New Jobs Report Shows a 'Steady But Cautious' Labor Market As Hiring Slows: 'A Temporary Chill'

Key Points

• The U.S. economy added 139,000 jobs in May, slowing from a revised 147,000 in April, while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.2%.
• ManpowerGroup’s internal data revealed a 7% month-over-month decline in open job postings and a 16% drop in new listings, signaling a hiring “pause” rather than a pullback.
• Regional President Ger Doyle described the market as a “temporary chill”, with both employers and employees acting cautiously and awaiting clearer economic signals.
• Industry gains were led by healthcare (+62,000 jobs), leisure & hospitality (+48,000) and social assistance (+16,000), while average hourly earnings rose 15 cents to $36.24.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its "Employment Situation Summary" report for May on Friday, and the findings reflect a "steady but cautious" labor market, says Ger Doyle, Regional President of North America at employment agency ManpowerGroup, in a statement to Entrepreneur.

The U.S. economy added 139,000 jobs in May. The unemployment rate was 4.2%, unchanged from April, while job additions were down from the revised 147,000 jobs added in April.

The unemployment rate has remained stable between 4.0% and 4.2% since May 2024, with 7.2 million people unemployed as of May.

Related: 'Really Hard to Find a Job': 1.7 Million Job Seekers Have Been Looking for Work for at Least 6 Months

Both employers and employees acted cautiously in the month of May, with employees holding onto their positions and employers slowing down their hiring.

"This is not a freeze, but a temporary chill," Doyle stated. "Employees are staying put, employers are holding steady, and everyone is waiting for clearer signals. This is collective caution, not crisis."

ManpowerGroup, which is the third-largest staffing agency in the world, found that its internal job board showed a 7% month-over-month decline in open job postings and a 16% drop in new postings in May, Doyle said. The number of new job postings was flat compared to the same time last year, "indicating a pause rather than a pullback," he explained.

Related: U.S. Businesses Added 155,000 New Jobs in March, According to ADP Data: 'A Good One for the Economy'

Recent college graduates have been particularly affected by hiring pauses. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, unemployment for those ages 22 to 27 hit 5.8% in March, the highest in four years.

The BLS report showed that employment trended up in healthcare (which added 62,000 jobs in May), leisure and hospitality (which added 48,000 jobs), and social assistance (which added 16,000 jobs).

Average hourly earnings rose by 15 cents to $36.24 in May, while the average workweek remained the same for the third month in a row at 34.3 hours.

In 2024, the economy gained 2.2 million jobs overall, less than the 3 million jobs it added in 2023.