Here Are the Key Takeaways From US Jobs Report for May

(Bloomberg) -- Here are five key takeaways from the US employment report for May, released Friday.

• May saw another big upward surprise in payroll gains, with employers adding 339,000 jobs versus the expected 195,000. The increases were widespread, with notable upticks in professional and business services, government and health care. The large April gains were revised even higher, another signal of labor-market strength.
• The unemployment rate also unexpectedly ticked up, to 3.7% from a decades-low 3.4% in April. That was at least in part driven by more prime-age workers entering the labor force.
• The surge in payrolls indicates the labor market remains robust, and may pose difficulties for Federal Reserve officials who were largely hoping to pause interest-rate increases at their June 13-14 meeting. The move up in the unemployment rate may support that decision, though. Should labor-market strength continue, they could raise rates in July.
• Women led the gains in prime-age participation in May. Black men, who had enjoyed historic employment gains over the past year, have now seen a reversal of that over the past two months. That could be an early sign of cracks in the labor market.
• The S&P 500 Index jumped at the open, and 2-year Treasury yields climbed. Investors are looking for clues about what the Fed might do this month, but the mixed signals coming from the labor data offer little clarity. In any case, the report adds to bets that the Fed might just go for another interest-rate hike.

To access the full TOPLive blog, click here for the Terminal or here online.

--With assistance from Carly Wanna.

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.