Labor Market Stayed Resilient In May, Adding 139,000 Jobs

Tariff-related disruption was not serious enough to pull the job market in crisis, not at least in May.

US employers added 139,000 jobs in May, below 147,000 in April, the Labor Statistics Bureau said on Friday. According to a survey by economists, more than 125,000 forecasts expected Dow jones nuswire And The Wall Street Journal, The unemployment rate was at 4.2%, just like April, the remaining 4%-4.2%range is made from May 2024.

The data has been shown that employers are reluctant to laying workers, even hiring-has become significantly slower than its breaknake pace of political years. According to recent surveys, labor experts hope that the job market will start showing cracks in the coming months as uncertainty about tariffs has made companies more reluctant to hire workers. But the job markets have remained till now.

Lindsay Rosar, head of multi-sector fixed income income incicking at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, wrote in a commentary, “The recent shock compared to the growth of the expected jobs and stable unemployment underlines the flexibility of the US labor market in front of the recent shock.”

Stock futures jumped in minutes after the report was released on Friday morning. After the report on private payroll and trim, investors were nervous about the job reports on Thursday, which the tariffs were already affecting the labor market. Friday’s official government report was a relief, Adam Hates, the global head of multi-asset among Adam Hates, Janus Henderson investors.

Hates wrote, “Good news is good news today, although tariff remains uncertainty, which is later being released hard data, which is very important for clarity on Liberation Day Economy in summer.”

Outlook for fed

Lack of red flags about employment may encourage authorities in the Federal Reserve to cut their patient approach rate.

Fede policy makers have held the central bank’s benchmark interest rate this year to increase the cost of borrowing on all types of loans and increase inflation. Fed is made mandatory to keep inflation low and employment high, and if the job market starts to falter, it can reduce interest rates to promote the economy.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell and other members of Fed’s Policy Committee have said that they are waiting to see if President Donald Trump’s business war will promote inflation, cause unemployment wave, or both. So far, they have neither done, nor solid job market figures can give them the breathing room to stay on the fence for a long time.

“On managing risks to the inflation side of its mandate with Fed laser-centered, the report of today’s strong-and-and-and-up jobs will greatly reduce to change its patient approach,” Rosanar wrote. “We hope that the Fed will hold the hold in this month’s meeting and think that a soft in the labor market figures for the fed is required to continue his easy cycle.”