Hiring remained strong in May, with employers adding 390,000 jobs despite high inflation and concerns about a economic slowdown.
Last month’s hiring exceeded economists ’predictions that employers had added 325,000 jobs in May.
The unemployment rate remained stable at 3.6%, the same as in the last two months and close to its pre-pandemic level. Wages grew 5.2% in the last 12 months.
Leisure and hospitality, professional and business services and transportation and storage led labor gains, the Labor Department said Friday.
However, there were indications that the labor market may be cooling from its intense pace last year. Wage increases are slowing, and are well below the inflation rate, currently above 8%. Recruitment estimates for the past two months were revised downwards, showing 22,000 fewer people hired than initially estimated.
And the number of people working part-time who would have preferred to work full-time increased by about 300,000, reflecting working hours that were cut “due to lack of work or business conditions,” the department said. of Work.
Major technology companies have been downsizing expansion plans and laying off workers as their stocks have been ruined. Large retailers have also withdrawn their expansion plans as their profits disappoint.
“While some parts of the economy are experiencing a slowdown, other parts are accelerating,” Daniel Zhao, a senior economist at Glassdoor, told CBS MoneyWatch. “We are seeing very strong demand from employers, healthy earnings and wage increases, so overall it’s a very healthy job market.”
This is a developing story.
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