Actual (May): 8.2%
Consensus: 8.1%
Previous (Apr): 8.4%
The unemployment rate decreased further in May, but it was expected to get even slightly lower. Once again, benign seasonality stands behind the improvement, while the adjusted figure is a bit higher compared with the previous month.
Overall, the decrease in unemployment in the last three months is what we could already see last year. It is based on the same increase of seasonal jobs and does not suggest any significant improvement on the labor market. The adjusted unemployment remains stable around 8.5 pct. Good news is that the number of vacancies is growing, which may help to push the unemployment further down in the months to come. On the other hand, the economic recession has intensified and downside risks still prevail, which may be reflected on the labor market later in the year.