U.S. employers kept up a solid pace of hiring in May, returning employment to its pre-recession level and offering confirmation the economy has snapped back from a winter slump.
Nonfarm payrolls increased 217,000 last month, the Labor Department said on Friday. The gain was in line with market expectations. Data for March and April was revised to show 6,000 fewer jobs created than previously reported.
"That suggests the first quarter was an anomaly in terms of what the economy was and we are back to a decent pace of job creation. Overall it's a pretty solid report," said John Canally, an economist at LPL Financial in Boston.
Despite decelerating from April's outsized 282,000 gain, when hiring was still bouncing back from a winter lull, May marked a fourth straight month with job gains above 200,000 and an important milestone in the economy's recovery.
It finally recouped the 8.7 million jobs lost during the recession. Employment has risen by 8.8 million since hitting a trough in February 2010.
Average hourly earnings, which are being closely watched for signs of how fast labor market slack is easing, rose five cents last month. In the 12 months through April, earnings grew at a 2.1 percent rate, suggesting little build-up in wage pressures.
Source: Reuters
Nonfarm payrolls increased 217,000 last month, the Labor Department said on Friday. The gain was in line with market expectations. Data for March and April was revised to show 6,000 fewer jobs created than previously reported.
"That suggests the first quarter was an anomaly in terms of what the economy was and we are back to a decent pace of job creation. Overall it's a pretty solid report," said John Canally, an economist at LPL Financial in Boston.
Despite decelerating from April's outsized 282,000 gain, when hiring was still bouncing back from a winter lull, May marked a fourth straight month with job gains above 200,000 and an important milestone in the economy's recovery.
It finally recouped the 8.7 million jobs lost during the recession. Employment has risen by 8.8 million since hitting a trough in February 2010.
Average hourly earnings, which are being closely watched for signs of how fast labor market slack is easing, rose five cents last month. In the 12 months through April, earnings grew at a 2.1 percent rate, suggesting little build-up in wage pressures.
Source: Reuters
