US Adds 172,000 Jobs in May, Beating All Forecasts

Unemployment rate likely remained at 4.3% for third straight month

The labor market may be emerging from a prolonged slowdown, with three straight months of job gains above 100,000 expected.

The report is set to go live at 8:30 a.m. and will outline changes in nonfarm payrolls—jobs added and lost—employment across industries, earnings, as well as unemployment rates both nationally and broken down by demographic.

The American job market is showing unexpected resilience this year, rebounding from a challenging 2025 despite persistent economic uncertainty and elevated energy prices exacerbated by the war in Iran.