US nonfarm job growth slows in May

NEW YORK -- US nonfarm payrolls rose by 139,000 in May, down 5.4 percent from April's revised total, according to data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The data show that despite employment showing little change over the month in sectors such as mining and manufacturing, the employment-population ratio fell by 0.3 percentage points to 59.7 percent in May.

While the unemployment rate held steady at 4.2 percent, the number of people jobless for less than five weeks increased by 264,000 to 2.5 million in May. The number of the long-term unemployed, being jobless for 27 weeks or more, decreased over the month by 218,000 to 1.5 million, accounting for 20.4 percent of all unemployed people.

While the headline unemployment rate held steady, downward revisions to prior months suggest the job market may be losing momentum amid ongoing economic uncertainty and policy headwinds.

March's nonfarm payroll figure was lowered by 65,000 to 120,000, while April's total was cut by 30,000 to 147,000 -- a combined downward revision of 95,000 jobs from earlier estimates.

Job growth remained concentrated in sectors like health care, leisure and hospitality, and social assistance. Meanwhile, employment in the federal government continued to decline.

"We don't expect to see a crash this month, probably not the month after this, but certainly a weight on the economy, not just from the tariffs but also from uncertainty. It's as if tariff policy is a specter in the mist," said Dan North, a senior economist at Allianz Trade North America.

US President Donald Trump on Friday urged Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to cut the interest rate by 1 percent shortly after the release of the jobs report.