WASHINGTON: US job growth surged past expectations in May with the unemployment rate remaining steady, as the labour market in the world’s largest economy showed signs of firming after months of turbulence.
Wall Street stocks traded lower on the news, with investors expecting a strong labour market means the Federal Reserve will switch its focus to combating inflation through rate hikes later this year.
US President Donald Trump railed at that development, insisting on social media that “stocks should go up, not down,” adding: “Growth does not mean inflation!”
Total non-farm payroll employment increased by 172,000 in May, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.3 per cent, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday (Jun 5).
US job growth has see-sawed between expansion and contraction from month to month over the last year, but May’s data marked the third straight month of increases.
Dan North, senior economist at Allianz Trade, told AFP the new data was “pretty bulletproof” in establishing a job growth trend.
“The economy’s on pretty firmer footing than we might have expected, and the only downside of this is it’s driven by probably a relatively small group of high-income, high-wealth holders that are really driving consumption,” he told AFP.