U.S. employers extended a streak of solid hiring in May that lowered the unemployment rate to an 18-year low of 3.8% from 3.9% in April.
Average hourly pay rose 2.7% from a year earlier, a slightly faster annual rate than in April, the Labor Department reported this morning. But pay growth remains below levels that are typical when the unemployment rate is this low.
Still, the report shows that the nearly 9-year old economic expansion—the second-longest on record—remains on track. Employers appear to be shrugging off recent concerns about global trade disputes.
Roughly an hour before the employment data was released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time, President Donald Trump appeared to hint on Twitter that a strong jobs report was coming. “Looking forward to seeing the employment numbers at 8:30 this morning,” he tweeted.
The president is normally briefed on the monthly jobs report the day before it is publicly released, and he and other administration officials are not supposed to comment on it beforehand.
Today’s report showed that hiring in the United States is benefiting a wider range of Americans: The unemployment rate for high school graduates reached 3.9%, a 17-year low. For black Americans, it hit a record low of 5.9%.
Even with unemployment at an 18-year low, wage growth has been chronically sluggish in most industries, barely keeping up with inflation, leaving many Americans still struggling to pay bills, particularly as inflation has ticked up.
