It’s another month of interesting results in the roller coaster we call the jobs market! Even as the economy slows and unemployment rises, the labor market remains resilient. Employers are still finding it difficult to fill openings as the number of open jobs moved back above 10M. May marked the 29th straight month of positive job growth.
The Numbers*:
- The unemployment rate rose 0.3% to 3.7% - higher than the 3.5% estimate and the highest seen since October 2022. The rise largely was due to a sharp decline (-369K) in self-employment.
- 339,000 jobs were added in May, far better than the Dow Jones estimate of 190,000 and almost directly in line with the 12-month average of 341,000.
- Average hourly earnings rose 0.3% in May, as expected. Annual wage growth is at 4.3%, 0.1% below estimates.
- The number of job openings increased to 10.1M.
- The number and rate of hires changed a little at 6.1M & 3.9%. The number of total separations decreased to 5.7M (-286,000).
- The number of quits changed little (3.8M), and layoffs and discharges decreased to 1.6M.
- The labor force participation rate remained unchanged at 62.6% in May.
- May vs. April: March and April numbers combined for an increase of 93K over what was initially reported.
Industry Trends:
- Professional and business services led the job gains by adding 64,000 jobs, followed by government (+56K), then health care (+ 52K), leisure and hospitality (48K), construction (+25K) and transportation and warehousing (+24K).
- Hires decreased in information (-37,000).
Interesting Changes:
- Those holding part-time jobs for economic reasons edged higher to 6.7%.
- Wage growth shows signs of easing with a slight decrease in May (YOY 4.3) but is still above the pre-pandemic number of 2.8% YOY.
- Government jobs increased by 56K but are still 209K below pre-pandemic levels.
- May was the 14th straight month that job creation came in above the expectations of Wall Street economists.
Get the latest Jobs Report:
* Above represents May 2023 Data
Sources:
- https://www.bls.gov/jlt/latest-numbers.htm
- https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.nr0.htm
- https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
- https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/02/jobs-report-may-2023-.html
- https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-employers-boost-hiring-may-labor-market-losing-steam-2023-06-02/
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/06/02/may-jobs-report-2023-unemployment/
- https://finance.yahoo.com/news/may-jobs-report-shocks-economists-the-strangest-employment-report-for-some-time-173324175.html?guccounter=1#:~:text=Data%20from%20Bureau%20of%20Labor,largest%20monthly%20increase%20since%20January
