Monday Economic Report

Employment Report: Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 172,000 in May, coming in above expectations. Meanwhile, March’s job gain was revised upward by 29,000 to a gain of 214,000, while April’s job gain was revised upward by 64,000 to 179,000 jobs. The 12-month average stands at 42,000 job gains per month. Leisure and hospitality exhibited the most significant job gain, adding 70,000 in May. At the same time, the unemployment rate stayed the same from April at 4.3%, while the labor force participation rate was unchanged at 61.8% but is down from 62.4% in May 2025.

Manufacturing employment stepped up by 7,000 in May after staying the same in April. On the other hand, the collective job gains in March and April of 13,000 were revised upward by 2,000 jobs to an increase of 15,000 jobs. Manufacturing employment is down 46,000 over the year. Durable goods manufacturing employment rose by 17,000 in May, while nondurable goods employment fell by 10,000. The most significant gain in manufacturing in May occurred in fabricated metal product manufacturing, which added 6,700 jobs over the month. Meanwhile, the most significant loss occurred in plastics and rubber products manufacturing, which shed 6,100 jobs over the month.

The employment-population ratio edged up 0.1 percentage point from April to 59.2% in May but is down 0.5 percentage points from a year ago. Meanwhile, employed persons who are part-time workers for economic reasons fell by 137,000 from April to 4.8 million in May and are up from 4.6 million in May 2025. Native-born employment is up 294,000 from April but down 396,000 over the year. Meanwhile, foreign-born employment is down 176,000 in May and 107,000 over the year. At the same time, the native-born unemployment rate is up 0.1 percentage point over the year to 4.2% in May, while the foreign-born unemployment rate is down 0.2 percentage points to 3.5%.

Average hourly earnings for all private nonfarm employees rose 0.3%, or 12 cents, reaching $37.53. Over the past year, earnings have grown 3.4%. The average workweek for all employees stayed the same at 34.3 hours and was unchanged at 40.4 hours for manufacturing employees.