U.S. job gains best since December
Courtesy U.S. Labor Department
The nation’s job market in May registered its best performance since December as the economy gained 280,000 jobs, according to government data released Friday, far surpassing analysts’ expectations.
The Labor Department said the U.S. unemployment rate remained essentially unchanged at 5.5 percent. Those two statistics seem to indicate that more Americans who are out of work are looking for work.
In December, the economy gained about 329,000 jobs. Since then, monthly gains hit a low of 119,000 in March and a high of 266,000 in February.
Analysts polled by Yahoo Finance expected a gain of about 230,000 in May. Any month in which the economy gains more than 200,000 jobs is considered a sign of strong job-market growth.
Services sectors again led the way last month. The government offered the following detail:
• Professional and business services added 63,000 jobs in May and 671,000 jobs over the year. More specifically, employment increased in computer systems design and related services (up 10,000). Employment continued to trend upward in temporary help services (20,000), management and technical consulting services (7,000), and architectural and engineering services (5,000).
• Employment in leisure and hospitality increased by 57,000 jobs in May after little change in March and April. Arts, entertainment and recreation businesses added 29,000 jobs. Employment in food services and drinking places has shown little net change over the past 3 months.
• Health care, a key sector of the Central Massachusetts economy, added 47,000 jobs in May. Within the industry, employment in ambulatory care services (which includes home health care services and outpatient care centers) rose 28,000. Meanwhile, hospitals added 16,000 jobs.
Employment in retail trade edged up in May, as did construction. Employment in other major industries, including manufacturing, wholesale trade, information, and government, showed little change during the month.
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