U.S. employers slowed hiring last month, but still added a solid 139,000 jobs amid uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s trade wars.
Hiring fell from a revised 147,000 in April, the Department of Labor said Friday. The job gains last month were slightly higher than the 130,000 economists had forecast. But revisions shaved 95,000 jobs from March and April payrolls.
The unemployment rate stayed at a low 4.2%.
Health care companies added 62,000 jobs, while bars and restaurants added 30,000. But the federal government shed 22,000 jobs, the most since November 2020, as Trump’s job cuts and hiring freeze had an impact. Factories lost 8,000 jobs, a sign, says Glassdoor economist Daniel Zhao, that manufacturers might be cutting back in the face of higher costs arising from Trump’s tariffs.
Average hourly wages rose 0.4% from April and 3.9% from a year earlier—a bit higher than forecast.
