U.S. adds another 217,000 jobs; unemployment holds steady
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Although it did so at a slightly slower pace than April’s two-year high of 288,000, the U.S. economy added another 217,000 jobs in May, indicating continued job-market growth.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate held steady at 6.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced Friday, keeping the widely monitored indicator at a five-year low for a second straight month.
Helping to lead the job growth in May were health care and social assistance organizations, which added 55,000 jobs, most of them - 34,000 in health care. That surge doubled its average monthly gain for the past 12 months, the BLS said. The government also reported widespread job gains in professional and business services (55,000), food services and drinking establishments (32,000) and transportation and warehousing jobs (16,000).
Employment in other major industries, including mining and logging, construction, wholesale trade, retail, information, financial activities, and government, showed little change over the month, the BLS said.
The stock market, already up nearly 1 percent this week, seemed to like the news in early trading today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 67 points in the first 75 minutes of trading, as it came within 100 points of hitting 17,000. The S&P 500 index also surged about 12 points, to 1,947.
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