172K Jobs Added in May, More than Double Expectations
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Joint Economic Committee released its Monthly Employment Update. In May, 172,000 jobs were added (120K private sector, 52K government) after strong showings in April and March. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.3 percent while the labor force participation rate held steady at 61.8 percent. The broadest measure of unemployment (U-6, which adds underemployment to unemployment) decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 8.1 percent.
Revised numbers from April show 64,000 more jobs from a revised increase of 179,000 from 115,000 initially reported. March’s numbers final revision ended up 36,000 from initial reports for an overall gain of 214,000 jobs.
From April to May, the best performing sectors were leisure and hospitality (+70K) and state and local government (+51K) while the worst performing sectors were financial activities (-22K) and trade, transportation, and utilities (-3K).
From May 2025 to May 2026, the best performing sectors were private education and health services (+610K) and leisure and hospitality (+240K) while the worst performing sectors were federal government (-275K) and financial activities (-107K).
Year over year, for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls, average nominal weekly earnings increased by 3.75 percent while average nominal hourly earnings increased by 3.45 percent. For production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls, average nominal weekly earnings increased by 4.17 percent while average nominal hourly earnings increased by 3.56 percent.
Job openings, a measure of labor demand, increased by 731,000 from March to April. The total number of nonfarm job openings was 7.62 million, and the rate increased by 0.4 percentage points to 4.6 percent. The best performing sectors were professional and business services (+668K) and private education and health services (+96K). The worst performing sectors were financial activities (-134K) and leisure and hospitality (-67K).
For the full Employment update and to see more details on the employment situation in each state, visit: https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/republicans/employment-update
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