U.S. Economy Gained 2.509 Mln Jobs in May; Jobless Rate Falls to 13.3%

(C) Reuters.

By Geoffrey Smith

Investing.com — The U.S. jobless rate fell surprisingly in May to 13.3% from 14.7% in April, confounding expectations that the layoffs caused by coronavirus lockdowns would drive it to a new post-WW2 high.

The Labor Department said nonfarm payrolls rose by 2.509 million in the month through mid-May, compared to expectations for a decline of 8.00 million among economists polled by Investing.com.

Almost all sectors of the economy posted gains in employment, from manufacturing to health and education. The biggest gains, however, were claimed by the leisure and hospitality sector, where 1.24 million net jobs were added. The exceptions to the trend were government, which shed 555,000 jobs, and information, which shed 38,000.

Analysts said the figures underlined the extreme volatility of developments since the explosion of the Covid-19 pandemic, and that such volatility may not be over yet.

“Data were crazy bad. Now they are going to get crazy good. The issue is what we are left with in 2-3 months time,” said Dario Perkins, chief macro strategist with TS Lombard Research, via Twitter.

“Today’s jobs report is much-needed good news for the American labor force,” said Josh Lipsky, a director at the Atlantic Council think-tank. “It shows that hiring is picking up steam at a rapid rate.

However, he warned against sounding the all-clear too early, noting that the U.S. still has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world.

“The reality is that millions of Americans are hurtling toward a financial cliff. There is no plan in place when the unemployment enhancement runs out next month,” Lipsky said in emailed comments.

The S&P 500 Futures contract shot higher on the news. By 9 AM ET (1300 GMT), it was up 48 points, or 1.6%, at 3,159, having been only 0.7% higher beforehand. Likewise, the futures contract on the Dow Jones – home to most of the acutely beaten-down cyclical stocks – was up 2.4% at 26,876.

The yield on the 10-Year U.S. Treasury note – which moves inversely to bond prices – rose over 10 basis points to 0.93%, its highest since March 20.