The U.S. economy added jobs at a modest pace in May amid ongoing uncertainty. Conflict in the Middle East continues to impact the broader labor market.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that employers added 172,000 jobs in May. This figure came in well above the estimates of economists. Experts polled by LSEG had originally predicted a much smaller gain of 85,000 jobs.
The national unemployment rate held steady at 4.3 percent for the month. This remained perfectly in line with the expectations of economic forecasters.
Significant upward revisions were made to the payroll numbers for the prior two months. March was revised up by 29,000 jobs to a total gain of 214,000. April's report was also revised up by 64,000 jobs to a total of 179,000.
Taken together, employment in March and April was 93,000 jobs higher than previously reported by the government.
Private payrolls added 120,000 jobs in May, easily beating the LSEG poll's prediction of 85,000. Government payrolls grew by 52,000 jobs, driven mostly by local government hiring.
The manufacturing sector added 7,000 jobs in May, topping the expected gain of 2,000 jobs. Healthcare added 35,000 jobs, which is roughly in line with the sector's monthly average over the past year. Social assistance added 12,000 jobs in May, mostly in individual and family services.
The financial activities sector struggled, shedding 22,000 jobs in May. Most of these losses occurred within commercial banking and at insurance carriers, which dropped 11,000 positions. This trend presents a challenging environment for insurance agents actively managing policies across states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, South Carolina, and Michigan.