The Agenda

The May Unemployment Report

One interesting aspect of the latest unemployment numbers, which are, as always, subject to revision: the unemployment rate increased sharply for those without a high school diploma (from 12.5 percent to 13 percent) while it decreased for those with a BA (from 4 percent to 3.9 percent). It also increased for those with a high school diploma but not college (7.9 percent to 8.1 percent) and for those with some college (7.6 percent to 7.9 percent). I think of the latter group as a bellwether.

These numbers are nothing to cheer about, and we can expect that the Federal Reserve will take them into account as it anticipates what to do next. 

Reihan Salam is president of the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of National Review.
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