Hiring decreased just slightly in May even as consumers and companies braced against tariffs and a potentially slowing economy, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
Nonfarm payrolls rose 139,000 for the month, above the muted Dow Jones estimate for 125,000 and the downwardly revised 147,000 that the U.S. economy added in April.
The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%.
Worker pay grew more than expected, with average hourly earnings up 0.4% during the month and 3.9% from a year ago, compared to respective forecasts for 0.3% and 3.7%.
Nearly half the job growth came from health care, which added 62,000, even higher than its average gain of 44,000 over the past year. Leisure and hospitality contributed 48,000 while social assistance added 16,000.
On the downside, government lost 22,000 jobs as efforts to cull the federal workforce by President Donald Trump and the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency began to show an impact.
Stock market futures jumped higher after the release as did Treasury yields.
Though the May numbers were better than expected, there were some underlying trouble spots.
The April count was revised lower by 30,000, while March’s total came down by 65,000 to 120,000.
There also were disparities between the establishment survey, which is used to generate the headline payrolls gain, and the household survey, which is used for the unemployment rate. The latter count, generally more volatile than the establishment survey, showed a decrease of 696,000 workers.
The report comes against a teetering economic background, complicated by President Donald Trump’s tariffs and an ever-changing variable of how far he will go to try to even the global trading field for American goods.
Most indicators show that the economy is still a good distance from recession. But sentiment surveys indicate high degrees of anxiety from both consumers and business leaders as they brace for the ultimate impact of how much tariffs will slow business activity and increase inflation.
For their part, Federal Reserve officials are viewing the current landscape with caution.
The central bank holds its next policy meeting in less than two weeks, with markets largely expecting the Fed to stay on hold regarding interest rates. In recent speeches, policymakers have indicated greater concern with the potential for tariff-induced inflation.
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