WASHINGTON: US employment growth surged in May, beating market expectations, while the unemployment rate remained steady, government data showed on Friday, with the labour market in the world’s largest economy sustaining recent gains.
“Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 172,000 in May, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.3%,” the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said.
Economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires and the Wall Street Journal had expected job growth of 80,000 jobs.
Friday’s data release also revised job growth numbers for March and April upwards by a combined 93,000, a signal that the labour market may be exiting a recent period of turbulence.
Job growth in the US has see-sawed between expansion and contraction from month to month over the last year, but May’s data marks the third straight month of increases.
The leisure and hospitality sector added 70,000 jobs last month, the new data showed, well above its average monthly gain of 14,000 over the last year.
The health care sector remained one of the labour market’s strongest performers, with 35,000 jobs added in May, in line with 12-monthly averages.
Employment in the financial activities sector, however, declined by 22,000, with losses concentrated in insurance and commercial banking.
The sector is down 107,000 jobs from its recent peak in May 2025.
The air transportation sector lost 9,000 jobs, after low-cost airline Spirit wound down its operations.
