Gallup | U.S. Unemployment Down by 0.1% in Mid-May due to decline in participation rate

U.S. unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, declined slightly to 8.2% in mid-May from 8.3% in April. Gallup’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 8.5% in mid-May, down slightly from 8.6% last month.

Much of this decline may be due to a decline in the workforce participation rate — Americans 18 years or older who have a job or are actively looking for work — which fell to 67.5% in mid-May from 67.8% in March. As people get discouraged and drop out of the workforce, the unemployment rate tends to decline.

via U.S. Unemployment Edges Down in Mid-May.