The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) May 2025 Jobs Report shows that the U.S. employers added 139,000 jobs last month. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.2%, in line with expectations.
According to the report, the number of unemployed people is currently 7.2 million. The unemployment rate for prime age workers—those between ages 25 and 54—grew from 3.5% to 3.6%.
The labor force participation rate—the share of the population that is looking for work—declined by 0.2% to a three-month low of 62.4%, but is little changed for the year. The employment population ratio also declined by 0.3% to 59.7%.
In May, employment trended up in sectors including:
- Health Care: 62,200 jobs added
- Leisure and hospitality: 48,000 jobs added
- Finance and insurance: 8,400 jobs added
- Legal services: 1,100 jobs added
Employment fell in sectors including:
- Federal government (-22,000)
- Retail trade (-6,500)
- Manufacturing (-8,000).
Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 12 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $36.24 in May. Average hourly earnings are up 3.9 percent over the past 12 months.
Overall, May’s jobs gains beat consensus expectations for 125,000 additional positions. However, March and April payrolls were revised down by 95,000 combined. The downward revisions “took some of the shine off of unexpectedly strong data from earlier this year,” according to Cory Stahle, economist for Indeed Hiring Lab.
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Sources: BLS, CNBC, Indeed Hiring Lab
