Employment surges past expectations, with 172,000 jobs added in May

According to Friday's Bureau of Labor Statistics release, employers created 172,000 jobs last month, which was nearly double the 85,000 which was expected. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.3%.

Earlier months also received upward revisions: March's total climbed by 29,000 to reach 214,000, while April's count jumped 64,000 to 179,000. The two-month combined total was 93,000 higher than initially reported.

Within the May totals, private sector employers were responsible for 120,000 of the jobs while public sector employees grew by 52,000 in local governments. Federal hiring was nearly flat at 1,000 jobs, and state governments actually trimmed their headcount by 4,000.

Manufacturing added 7,000 new jobs. Healthcare brought on roughly 35,200 workers, consistent with its recent monthly trend, with most gains coming from outpatient services and hospitals. Social services added 12,000 roles, primarily in family and individual support programs. Financial services cut 22,000 jobs with insurance and commercial banking absorbing most of the losses.

Around 4.8 million people remained in part-time roles despite wanting full-time work.

“The labor force participation rate held at 61.8 percent in May, and the employment-population ratio changed little at 59.2 percent. These measures showed little change over the year, after accounting for annual population control adjustments,” the release added, showing little change with those in the workforce.

The report comes at a time where there is volatility in the economy because of the conflict with Iran as well as advancement in AI. Job losses in the tech sector have been publicized over the last few months as businesses implement AI, replacing human labor.

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