America’s employers added a robust 272,000 jobs in May, an acceleration from April and a sign that companies are still confident enough in the economy to keep hiring despite persistently high interest rates, the Associated Press reports.
Last month’s strong job growth reflects the durability of America’s consumer-driven economy. With the nation’s households continuing their steady spending, many employers have had to keep hiring to meet customer demand.
The unemployment rate edged up to a still-low 4%, from 3.9%, ending a 27-month streak of unemployment below 4%, the Labor Department said today. That streak had matched the longest such run since the late 1960s.
May’s job gain suggests that the economy should keep expanding at a steady pace. A healthy job market typically propels consumer spending, the economy’s principal fuel. Some recent signs of economic weakness have raised concerns that growth is faltering, but May’s jobs report could help assuage those worries.
Still, the Federal Reserve’s inflation fighters would like to see the economy cool a bit as they consider when to begin cutting their benchmark interest rate.
A key reason why the economy is still producing solid net job growth is that layoffs remain at historic lows. Just 1.5 million people lost jobs in April. That’s the lowest monthly figure on record — outside of the peak pandemic period — in data going back 24 years. After struggling to fill jobs for several years, most employers are reluctant to lay off workers.
