In Chaotic Economy, Hiring Remained Steady in May

The labor market persevered in May, continuing a consistent run of job creation that is nonetheless showing signs of drag from tariffs, high interest rates and federal government downsizing.

Employers added 139,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department reported on Friday, about in line with economists’ expectations. The unemployment rate remained at 4.2 percent.

Revisions darkened the picture slightly, subtracting 95,000 jobs from March and April. And there are signs that President Trump’s chaotic economic policy has deterred hiring in parts of the economy that depend on imports. The manufacturing and retail sectors cut jobs, while an earlier surge of employment in transportation and warehousing, probably driven by businesses importing ahead of new trade restrictions, has now faded.

“It’s a bit too soon to fully assess the fallout from the tariff shock, but it’s a slow-burning deterioration of the labor market,” said Samuel Tombs, chief U.S. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. “We think by the fall, you’ll see a much weaker trend emerge.”

Job growth was fueled almost entirely by health care and social assistance, which added 78,000 positions, as well as leisure and hospitality, with 48,000. Most other sectors were flat.