June 6 (UPI) — U.S. job growth in May was largely in line with expectations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly report released on Friday.
The United States added 139,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in May while the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2%.
Economists expected 125,000-130,000 jobs created in May, according to CNBC and CNN.
Federal employment fell by 22,000 in May, 59,000 since January, health care gained 62,000 jobs while leisure and hospitality added 48,000.
The average monthly gain in jobs over the past 12 months was 149,000 jobs.
Multiple warning signs are flashing for the U.S. economy, from the essentially flat private sector hiring in May to the impact of tariffs that have sparked inflation fears to plunging consumer and small business sentiment.
Combined, they comprise a weight dragging on the economy, which in turn is creating uncertainty and weakened optimism about the economic outlook.
Federal job cuts are also a factor that is starting to be reflected in the May economic data, including job creation.
The impact of those cuts takes a while to show up in broad economic data because federal layoffs are being fought in court and workers getting cut are not all being laid off immediately.
According to Challenger, Gray and Christmas U.S. employers have announced 696,309 job cuts in the January-May 2025 period, 80% higher than the same period a year ago.
Employment in major industries like mining, quarrying, manufacturing, oil and gas extraction and others showed little change, according to the BLS.
