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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 jobs market remains resilient even as the U.S. economy slowed through recession worries, interest rate hikes, tech and large company layoffs, and banking sector instability. More workers are entering the labor force and the participation rate for workers aged 25 to 54 is the highest since March 2008. Unemployment remains low, even though the pace of hiring is gradually cooling. Workers can still find jobs and job losses dropped in April.

As Q1 closes out, the Labor Market is showing signs of cooling, with hiring slowing and the smallest monthly employment increase in more than two years. Worker availability improved slightly; however, the market is still tight and finding workers with desired skills and experience remains challenging. Average hourly earnings moderate to 4.2% in March from 4.6% in February without an uptick in the unemployment rate, reflecting a strong but cooling market.

The end of February sees the jobs market continuing to be tight, though some soft spots are starting to show (hiring has moderated somewhat, and wage growth is high but cooling). It’s not enough, however, for the Federal Reserve to discontinue the cadence of interest rate hikes.