U.S. Adds 172,000 May Jobs as Unemployment Holds at 4.3% and Wage Growth Slows to 3.4%
Updated
Updated · CounterPunch · Jun 10
U.S. Adds 172,000 May Jobs as Unemployment Holds at 4.3% and Wage Growth Slows to 3.4%
3 articles · Updated · CounterPunch · Jun 10
Summary
172,000 jobs were added in May, and upward revisions to the prior two months lifted the three-month average to 188,000, a stronger pace than many expected.
4.3% unemployment held steady even as the household survey showed a small drop in employment, underscoring a split between solid payroll gains and softer worker-level data.
70,000 leisure and hospitality jobs, 55,000 in local government and 47,200 in healthcare and social services accounted for essentially all net hiring, leaving little breadth elsewhere.
3.4% wage growth trailed roughly 3.8% inflation and likely 4.0% soon, while low quits and hiring suggest workers are staying put despite still-low unemployment.
Near-zero immigration means only 30,000 to 60,000 monthly jobs may be needed to match labor-force growth, but weak productivity and soft self-employment complicate the picture.