Employers in the United States added 139,000 workers to their payrolls in May, the Department of Labor said Friday, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2 percent.
Economists had been expecting 125,000 jobs and an unemployment rate unchanged at 4.2 percent.
President Donald Trump’s program of shrinking the federal government is showing signs of progress. Employment in the federal government fell by 22,000 in May and is down 59,000 since January.
The private sector added 140,000 jobs, more than the 120,000 forecast. The services sector expanded by 145,000 jobs while the good producing side of the economy contracted by 5,000. Manufacturing employment contracted by 8,000 jobs but the prior month’s figure was revised up from a loss of 1,000 to a gain of 5,000.
Over the past 12 months, the economy has added 149,000 jobs each month on average.
The labor force participation rate slipped to 62.4 from 62.6 in the prior month.
Average hourly earnings climbed at a rapid rate, rising 0.4 percent in May. That is double the April rate of increase and more than the consensus forecast. Compared with a year ago, average hourly earnings are up 3.9 percent, handily beating inflation.
There were signficiant downward revisions to the March and April jobs numbers. March was revised down by 65,000 to 120,000 and April was revised down by 30,000 147,000. With these revisions, employment in March and April combined is 95,000 lower than previously reported.
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