The U.S. unemployment rate has hit a new low at the end of May after another month of employment growth. The latest U.S. employment figures for May were less than expected but the U.S. economy has created over 800,000 jobs since the start of the year when the unemployment rate was 4.7%. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 138,000 jobs were created in the non-farm sector in May against expectations of 176,000. Employment gains were made in food services, professional and business services and healthcare, while the manufacturing, government and retail sectors shrank.
After revisions to previous months’ figures, the unemployment rate fell from 4.4% to 4.3%. Hourly pay rose by 2.5% over the last 12 months, the same rate as in April.
Part of the explanation behind this latest low in the unemployment rate is a lower participation rate. May’s rate of 62.7% was down from April’s 62.9% and it was accompanied by a fall in the employment-to-population ratio from 60.2% to 60.0%.