Employment in the region was up in May

Seasonal hiring in construction and tourism and leisure boosted employment in the region in May, offsetting major declines in educational hiring as schools wrapped up for the year, the U.S. Department of Labor reported yesterday.

During the year, the number of jobs in the region declined by 88,100. But payrolls expanded by 8,200 jobs during the month. The region stretches from Cecil County, Md., in the south to Burlington and Bucks Counties in the north and includes Salem County, N.J., and Wilmington, as well as Philadelphia and its surrounding counties.

The May statistics come in advance of the closely watched monthly national employment report to be released tomorrow. That report, from the U.S. Department of Labor, will focus on June job statistics.

Economists expect that the nation's unemployment rate will reach 9.7 percent, with 380,000 to 400,000 jobs lost. The unemployment rate in May was 9.4 percent.

Philadelphia fared better than some other metropolitan areas in May. Even seasonal hiring could not boost month-over-month results in Atlanta, Miami, Los Angeles, New York, or San Francisco. However, employment increased in Boston, Dallas, Detroit, and Washington.

Some employment reports use a statistical formula to iron out major seasonal changes in hiring, providing a more consistent outlook. Today's Labor Department report is not seasonally adjusted. Economists have their own preferences about how they like to see the data.

In the Philadelphia metropolitan area, which includes the city and four Pennsylvania counties, employment rose by 800 jobs, as 4,100 jobs in tourism and leisure and 1,300 jobs in construction, along with small increases in other sectors, barely offset a decline of 5,700 in one of the region's biggest sectors, education and health services.

Hiring rose by 6,000 in Camden, Gloucester, and Burlington Counties, with nearly every sector except government and information getting a boost. The biggest increases were in leisure and hospitality and business services.

In Philadelphia itself, however, employment declined, with continued erosion in nearly every sector. The biggest hit was in education and health services, in which 3,400 jobs were lost.

Year over year, the city lost 18,300 jobs, which folds into the 54,700 jobs lost in the city and its Pennsylvania suburbs. In the three nearby New Jersey counties, 19,000 jobs were lost during the year.