The U.S. economy added jobs in May at a slower pace than in the past two months as uncertainty over the direction of trade, tax and monetary policy caused employers to pull back on hiring.
The Labor Department on Friday reported that employers added 139,000 jobs in May. That figure was slightly above the estimate of economists polled by LSEG, who projected 130,000 jobs added – though it was cooler than the initial report of 177,000 jobs added in April or the 185,000 jobs gained in March.
The unemployment rate was 4.2%, unchanged from the past two months and in line with the LSEG estimate.
Job gains in the past two months were both revised, with job creation in March revised down by 65,000 from a gain of 185,000 to 120,000; and April job gains downwardly revised by 30,000 from a gain of 177,000 to 147,000. Taken together, employment in March and April was 95,000 lower than previously reported.
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