MNI DATA BRIEF: US May Payrolls Fall Short of Expectations

U.S. employers added 559,000 jobs in May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, nearly 100,000 jobs short of the 655,000 gain financial markets had been expecting. The unemployment rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 5.8%, better than expected, as the participation rate fell a tenth of a percent to 61.6%.

Notable gains came from leisure and hospitality (+292,000), health care and social assistance (+45,800), state and local government education (+103,000), and private education (+41,000). Government payrolls were up 67,000.

Gains in other industries were subdued, and job growth declined in construction (-20,000), transportation and warehousing (-5,800), and financial activities (-1,000), as pointed to by the latest MNI Reality Check.