Overview
- The BLS reported 172,000 nonfarm payrolls added in May and revised March and April higher by a combined 93,000, a set of results that markets moved on after the release.
- The larger establishment survey showed solid hiring while the household survey recorded a three-month employment loss of about 141,000, producing a notable divergence in how jobs are counted.
- Nominal hourly wage growth slowed to roughly 3.4% year‑over‑year, below recent inflation near 4%, which implies falling real wages for many workers.
- Broad underutilization measures rose: the U‑6 rate sits around 8.1%, the share of unemployed out of work 27+ weeks climbed to about 27.5%, and average and median unemployment duration increased.
- Job gains are concentrated in leisure and hospitality, local government and health care while tech, finance and some goods-producing areas lag, a mix that complicates prospects for households and the Federal Reserve’s policy choices.