The US economy added 139,000 jobs in May, slightly more than expected
Commuters cross Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington
By Alicia Wallace, CNN
(CNN) — The long-resilient US labor market slowed down a little in May, adding 139,000 jobs, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday.
Last month’s job gains, which came in slightly more than expected, marked a retreat from April, which was downwardly revised to 147,000.
The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%.
Economists were expecting the economy to have added 130,000 jobs last month and that the unemployment rate held at 4.2%, according to FactSet consensus estimates.
Friday’s report painted a picture of a “steady but cautious” labor market in the face of swelling economic uncertainty, said Ger Doyle, regional president for North America at employment firm ManpowerGroup.
“This is not a freeze, but a temporary chill,” he wrote in commentary Friday. “Employees are staying put, employers are holding steady, and everyone is waiting for clearer signs.”
Stock futures jumped higher after the data release. Dow futures were up 275 points, or 0.65%. S&P 500 futures rose 0.8% and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.75%.
President Donald Trump’s sweeping policy moves, especially a whipsaw approach to massive import tariffs, have left businesses shellshocked.
Not knowing the size and breadth of tariffs (but knowing they very well might change) has hindered their abilities to operate and plan: They don’t know what their costs will be in three months, let alone three days from now; and it’s even more unclear whether consumers will keep spending.
Outlooks have quickly become opaque.
Scores of the largest public US companies have suspended their forecasts for future earnings, temporarily blinding analysts and investors. And small businesses that have little room for error have been left frozen in their tracks.
Still, the economy and the labor market have held up rather than fallen off a cliff, Oliver Allen, senior US economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, told CNN in an interview earlier this week.
The economy was still growing at a solid clip near the end of last year and retained a decent chunk of that momentum in the first part of this year.
Hiring has been slowing, but the layoff rate has remained low.
This story is developing and will be updated.
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