According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, payrolls in May were held down about 35,000 by workers on strike at Verizon; thus, the strike can account for a relatively small portion of the slowdown in payroll growth in May. The Verizon workers are now back on the job and should be included in the June payroll counts.
Return to text  2  Hourly compensation in the business sector (a measure that includes benefit costs as well as wages) is now reported to have increased about 3 percent over the year ended in the first quarter of 2016, somewhat above the average increase in this series over the preceding several years.