US May jobs exceed forecasts, dimming near‑term rate‑cut hopes
Nonfarm payrolls rose 172,000 in May; unemployment held at 4.3%. March and April were revised up by 93,000, reducing near‑term odds of a Fed rate cut and pressuring crypto and tech.
The US economy added 172,000 nonfarm payrolls in May, while the unemployment rate remained at 4.3%, the Labor Department reported. The number of unemployed people fell by 66,000 to 7.31 million. Private payrolls rose by 120,000. The labor force participation rate was 61.8% and the average workweek was 34.3 hours. Average hourly earnings increased 0.3% month over month and were up 3.4% year over year.
Revisions to prior months raised payrolls by a combined 93,000 jobs: March was revised up by 64,000 and April by 29,000. Most of the May hiring occurred in leisure and hospitality, local government and health care.
Market reactions followed the release. Prices for interest-rate futures moved to reflect lower odds of an immediate Federal Reserve rate cut and Treasury yields rose. Shares of high-growth technology companies and firms linked to artificial intelligence declined after the report. Bitcoin and Ethereum fell, and crypto markets had already shown signs of stress this week from exchange-traded fund outflows, forced liquidations and weak investor sentiment.
The data show continued hiring and steady wage growth in key sectors. The payroll increase and the upward revisions changed the near-term outlook for monetary policy and influenced prices in assets sensitive to interest-rate expectations.
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