U.S. added 172,000 nonfarm jobs in May, outpacing forecasts

The United States added 172,000 nonfarm payrolls in May, more than doubling expectations, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

May's job growth was down from April's 179,000 jobs but beat the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 80,000. The unemployment rate remained at 4.3%.

The job market posted gains in leisure and hospitality, local government and health care while jobs in finance fell. Health care's 35,000 jobs added in May was slightly below the average 38,000 over the past 12 months. Ambulatory health services added 26,000 jobs, including 11,000 in home health services.

Local government added 55,000 jobs and social assistance work added 12,000 jobs, largely focused on individual and family services adding 10,000 jobs.

Jobs in financial activities fell by 22,000, putting the industry down 107,000 jobs since May 2025. Insurance carriers and related activities fell by 11,000 and commercial banking fell by 3,000.

Industries that showed little change in May included construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, information, professional and business services.

There were 7.3 million people who are unemployed in the United States in May, which remained relatively unchanged since April. About 2.2 million had been jobless for less than five weeks. The rate of labor force participation stayed at 61.8%.

Average hourly earnings for nonfarm employees increased by 12 cents in May, a 0.3% increase, reaching $37.53 per hour. For the year ending in May, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.4%, slower than the rate of inflation at 3.8%.