Hiring remained steady in May and the unemployment rate was unchanged in a crucial economic report as some worried that heightened uncertainty amid President Trump’s tariffs would start to hit jobs.
US employers added 139,000 jobs last month, slightly above expectations of 125,000, the Labor Department said Friday.
The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%, even as some economists had cautioned that uncertainty could start to flame this figure.
“While it’s encouraging to see that the economy still added a healthy clip of jobs during the month of May, the next few jobs reports will be particularly important since a continued deceleration could push the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates sooner than later,” Glen Smith, chief investment officer at GDS Wealth Management, said in a note.
“Friday’s jobs report shows slowing but still solid growth, which may warrant a rate cut at some point towards the end of the year, at the Fed’s November or December meetings.”
Futures tied to the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq ticked up after the report’s release.
Friday’s job report is expected to extend the Federal Reserve’s wait-and-see approach to cutting interest rates.
Some aspects of the data did signal struggles, however, as the labor force shrank by 625,000 and the participation rate, which measures the share of adults working or looking for work, dropped by two-tenths of a point.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.