The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose by 139,000 in May, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%. Job growth was led by health care (+62,000), leisure and hospitality (+48,000), and social assistance (+16,000), while federal government employment fell by 22,000. The labor force participation rate declined slightly to 62.4%, and average hourly earnings increased by 0.4% to $36.24. Revisions lowered job growth estimates for March and April by a combined 95,000 jobs.
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 139,000 in May, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment continued to trend up in health care, leisure and hospitality, and social assistance. Federal government continued to lose jobs.
This news release presents statistics from two monthly surveys. The household survey measures labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics. The establishment survey measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. For more information about the concepts and statistical methodology used in these two surveys, see the Technical Note.
Household Survey Data
The unemployment rate held at 4.2 percent in May and has remained in a narrow range of 4.0 percent to 4.2 percent since May 2024. The number of unemployed people, at 7.2 million, changed little over the month.
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (3.9 percent), adult women (3.9 percent), teenagers (13.4 percent), Whites (3.8 percent), Blacks (6.0 percent), Asians (3.6 percent), and Hispanics (5.1 percent) showed little or no change over the month.
The number of people jobless less than 5 weeks increased by 264,000 to 2.5 million in May. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) decreased over the month by 218,000 to 1.5 million. Both measures were little changed over the year. The long-term unemployed accounted for 20.4 percent of all unemployed people in May.
In May, the employment-population ratio declined by 0.3 percentage point to 59.7 percent. The labor force participation rate decreased by 0.2 percentage point to 62.4 percent.
The number of people employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.6 million, changed little in May. These individuals would have preferred full-time employment but were working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs.
In May, the number of people not in the labor force who currently want a job was little changed at 6.0 million. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job.
Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of people marginally attached to the labor force, at 1.6 million, changed little in May. These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not looked for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, also changed little over the month at 381,000.
Establishment Survey Data
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 139,000 in May, similar to the average monthly gain of 149,000 over the prior 12 months. In May, employment continued to trend up in health care, leisure and hospitality, and social assistance. Federal government continued to lose jobs.
Health care added 62,000 jobs in May, higher than the average monthly gain of 44,000 over the prior 12 months. In May, job gains occurred in hospitals (+30,000), ambulatory health care services (+29,000), and skilled nursing care facilities (+6,000).
Employment in leisure and hospitality continued to trend up in May (+48,000), largely in food services and drinking places (+30,000). Over the prior 12 months, leisure and hospitality had added an average of 20,000 jobs per month.
In May, social assistance employment continued to trend up (+16,000), reflecting continued growth in individual and family services (+16,000).
Federal government employment continued to decline in May (-22,000) and is down by 59,000 since January. (Employees on paid leave or receiving ongoing severance pay are counted as employed in the establishment survey.)
Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; information; financial activities; professional and business services; and other services.
Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 15 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $36.24 in May. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.9 percent. In May, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 12 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $31.18.
In May, the average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was 34.3 hours for the third month in a row. In manufacturing, the average workweek was little changed at 40.1 hours, and overtime was unchanged at 2.9 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls remained at 33.7 hours in May.
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for March was revised down by 65,000, from +185,000 to +120,000, and the change for April was revised down by 30,000, from +177,000 to +147,000. With these revisions, employment in March and April combined is 95,000 lower than previously reported. (Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors.)
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