WASHINGTON, DC-The Department of Labor reported grim unemployment figures for May. They confirm, without a doubt, that the economic recovery is moving forward at a slow crawl. Only 54,000 jobs were added for the month, a significant drop from the revised number for those added in April. The unemployment rate is now 9.1%, from 9% in April.

The numbers were a surprise to economists who had expected a larger increase in hires. They also come as other metrics point to a slowdown in the economy, including manufacturing and consumer confidence.

The employment figures for the construction industry were particularly lackluster--with only an additional 2,000 new jobs, according to the Associated General Contractors of America’s analysis of the figures. In short, the decline in public sector construction is not being matched completely by the slight increase in the private sector.

“Simply put, there just isn’t enough demand for construction to fuel the kind of hiring needed to get industry employment back to where it was in 2007,” Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist, said in a prepared statement.

The greater Washington DC area, as usual, stands in sharp contrast to the national picture, Scott Homa, Mid-Atlantic research manager for Jones Lang LaSalle, tells GlobeSt.com. The metro area has an unemployment rate of 5.4%, he notes. “As usual, the vast presence of the federal government has insulated the DC market and mitigated the contraction of the local labor market.”