The U.S. job market was significantly weaker in May of 2019 than in preceding months and showed also weaknesses when compared to May 2018, according to a new report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Despite continued growth especially in professional and business services and in health care, the job market added only 75,000 new positions in May. This compares to an average of 164,000 new jobs per month in 2019 and 223,000 new jobs in may of 2018.
The top-performing industries were professional and business services with 33,000 new jobs as well as healthcare with 16,000 new jobs. The two sectors accounted for almost 7 of 10 new jobs created in May. Explore Raising Career’s healthcare career section to explore career opportunities in healthcare.
Construction jobs inched up by about 4,000, while all other major industries including mining, manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, leisure and hospitality, and government showed little change.
On the positive side, average hourly wages climbed slightly by 6 cents to $27.83 per hour. Average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees increased by 7 cents to $23.38 in May.