U.S. Economy Adds Just 38,000 Jobs In May 2016

The unemployment rate declined by 0.3 percentage point to 4.7 percent in May, and nonfarm payroll employment changed little (+38,000), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Employment increased in health care. Mining continued to lose jobs, and employment in information decreased due to a strike.

Despite the low job growth, economists cautioned not to overreact to the jobs report, according to The Los Angeles Times. Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services told the source, “These numbers are quite disappointing but not decisively recessionary or a sign that the economy is down and out.”

The number of jobs created in May were 120,000 less than economists had forecast, the source reports.