U.S. job growth accelerated more than expected in May, but unemployment ticked up, too.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 272,000 jobs last month, the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said. That number was well above the 190,000 jobs economists had expected. Employers have created 2,756,000 jobs in the last 12 months, according to the BLS.
Average hourly earnings in May also topped forecasts, rising 4.1% from a year earlier.
However, the national unemployment rate inched up from 3.9% to 4.0%, passing a threshold that had persisted for 27 consecutive months.
The U.S. Labor Department reported that first-time claims filed in Oklahoma during the week ending June 1 totaled 1,323, which was 467 fewer than the 1,790 initial claims filed the week before.
For the file week ending May 25, the unadjusted number of continuing unemployment claims in Oklahoma totaled 9,609, an increase of 242 from the previous week. For the same file week, the four-week moving average, which smooths out volatility in the statistics, was 9,478, a modest increase of 91 from the previous week.
Economists believe the Federal Reserve, which meets this week, will wait until September at the earliest before lowering borrowing costs.
The U.S. economy has proven surprisingly and uncharacteristically resilient despite higher interest rates. To combat inflation, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate 11 times between March 2022 and July 2023, bringing it to the highest level in more than two decades.
The nation’s central bank has kept the interest rate between 5.25% and 5.5% for almost a year, since last July. Higher borrowing costs have helped tamp down inflation.