U.S. May Nonfarm Payrolls Up 339K, Unemployment Rate 3.7% -- Update
June 02 2023 - 9:18AM
Dow Jones News
By Gabriel T. Rubin
U.S. employers added 339,000 jobs in May as the labor market
showed resilience in the face of rising interest rates and elevated
inflation.
The job market added more positions in recent months than
previously thought, as well. March and April's totals were both
revised upward for a net gain of 93,000 jobs, the Labor Department
said Friday. May's rise marked the 29th straight monthly increase
in employment. The unemployment rate rose to 3.7%, still near
historic lows but an uptick from April's 3.4%.
Business services, healthcare, construction, and transportation
and warehousing were among the sectors adding jobs. Low
unemployment has put pressure on wages as employers compete for
scarce workers. Wages grew a solid 4.3% in May over the prior
year.
Federal Reserve officials are closely monitoring the labor
market as they consider their next policy move. The central bank in
May lifted its benchmark federal-funds rate by a quarter percentage
point to a range between 5% and 5.25%, its 10th consecutive
increase intended to tame high inflation. Fed officials had hoped
to see higher borrowing costs cause the economy to slow more by
now, curbing wage and price increases.
Fed officials have signaled they are increasingly likely to hold
interest rates steady at their meeting June 13-14 before preparing
to raise them again later this summer.
Write to Gabriel T. Rubin at gabriel.rubin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 02, 2023 09:03 ET (13:03 GMT)
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