Key Points:
- Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 139,000 in May and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2%.
- Consensus was a gain of 130,000 jobs.
- The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for March was revised down by 65,000, from +185,000 to +120,000, and the change for April was revised down by 30,000, from +177,000 to +147,000. With these revisions, employment in March and April combined is 95,000 lower than previously reported.
- Healthcare added 62,000 jobs in May, leisure and hospitality added 48,000, and social assistance added 16,000 jobs.
- Federal government employment fell by 22,000 in May.
- In May, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by $0.15 to $36.24.
- The average workweek for all private employees was unchanged at 34.3 hours in May.
- The labor force participation rate decreased by 0.2% over the month to 62.4%.
- The Right Facts will continue to monitor employment.