Payrolls Rates Climb Amidst Labor Market Shortage

The amount of nonfarm payroll experienced a dramatic swell over the month of May, the Labor Department reported Friday.

Both the public and private sector payrolls increased by 339,000 for the month. The job growth continued for consecutive 29 months. The expansion is in line with the 12-month average of 341,000, according to the report.

The majority of job creation was the result of professional and business services with a growth of 64,000 job hires. Another notable source of job hires for the month came from government jobs adding 56,000 employees.

Job fields in leisure and hospitality, construction and transportation also experienced a swell of new hires in the month.

Despite the stream of job growth in the country, unemployment for the month also saw an increase. The unemployment rate rose to 3.7 percent. In addition, hourly earnings rose 0.3 percent, wages rose 4.3 percent and average workweeks decreased by only 0.1 to 34.3 hours, according to the report.

Posted June 5, 2023