The latest monthly labor market data has shown that hiring in the U.S. has slowed dramatically since the last check while the unemployment rate has increased, raising concerns about the strength of the economic recovery, according to Reuters. On Friday, the Labor Department reported that non-farm payrolls increased by 54,000 in May, which was well below expectations for an increase of 150,000 after a 232,000-job gain during April. The report also showed that the unemployment rate in the U.S. increased slightly, inching up to 9.1% in May from 9.0% the prior month.
The report detailed that the private sector added 83,000 new positions as the government shed 29,000 jobs. The slower growth was broad-based, with declines seen even in sectors such as retail employment and manufacturing employment that were especially strong the prior month. The increase in the unemployment rate was linked to a surge of discouraged workers re-entering the labor force due to recent improvements. Patrick O’Keefe of J.H. Cohn warned on the impact of the weak jobs growth on households, saying the data “does not augur well for a future acceleration” in economic growth.