Employment rises in May

U .S. chemical employment increased in May from both the previous month and from May a year earlier, according to seasonally adjusted data from the Labor Department. Employment in the chemical industry in May totaled 887,800, up 800 from April and 9,900 from the comparable month in 2005. Meanwhile, the number of production workers fell by 2,600 from April to 517,000; however, the May figure was 3,900 ahead of the same month a year ago. The average workweek in May fell to 42.4 hours from 42.7 hours the month before but was up slightly from 42.2 hours a year earlier.