Christopher S. RugaberAssociated Press
U.S. employers added a modest 559,000 jobs in May, an improvement from April’s sluggish gain but still evidence that many companies are struggling to find enough workers as the economy rapidly recovers from the pandemic recession.
Last month’s job gain was above April’s revised total of 278,000, the Labor Department said Friday, yet well short of employers’ need for labor. The unemployment rate fell to 5.8% from 6.1%.
The speed of the rebound from the recession has caught employers off guard and touched off a scramble to hire. The reopening of the economy, fueled by substantial federal aid and rising vaccinations, has released pent-up demand among consumers to eat out, travel, shop, attend public events and visit with friends and relatives.
Job postings in late May were nearly 26% above pre-pandemic levels, according to the employment website Indeed. Government data shows that posted jobs are at the highest level on records dating back to 2000.
And consumers are opening their wallets. In April, they increased their spending after a huge gain in March that had been fueled by the distribution of $1,400 stimulus checks. With more Americans feeling comfortable about staying in hotels and visiting entertainment venues, spending on services jumped.
Service industries, including banking, retail, and shipping, expanded at the fastest pace on record in May. The evidence suggests that consumers have embarked on a long-anticipated shift away from the large goods purchases that many of them had made while hunkered down at home to spending on services, from haircuts to sporting events to vacation trips.
US job growth picks up in May; unemployment rate falls to 5.8 per cent
an hour ago Coleen Piteo, Director of marketing at Yours Truly restaurant, puts out a sign for hiring on Thursday in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Associated Press US employers boosted hiring in May as the easing pandemic, helped by vaccinations, pulled more people back into the labour force, offering assurance that the economy’s recovery from the COVID-19 recession remained on track.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 559,000 jobs last month, the labour Department said in its closely watched employment report on Friday. Data for April was revised slightly higher to show payrolls rising by 278,000 jobs instead of 266,000 as previously reported.