Unemployment down two-tenths of one percent

But any good news is good, right?

Not really.

Nonfarm payrolls grew by a seasonally adjusted 431,000 in May, but virtually all the new jobs were temporary jobs at the U.S. Census, leaving private-sector hiring very weak, the Labor Department reported Friday.

Excluding 411,000 temporary Census workers, payrolls rose by 20,000 in May. According to the survey of 400,000 business establishments, private-sector payrolls increased by 41,000, the fifth straight monthly gain.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hiring-weak-in-may-except-for-census-workers-2010-06-04-83100

All these temporary census jobs are temporary, unskilled, low paid and will not lead to permanent employment. The temporary census workers will soon be unemployed again.

In fact, counting these temporary jobs, unemployment was "down" to "only" 9.7% because 322,000 unemployed workers gave up hope, quit looking, and relied on unemployment benefits and / or welfare.