IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
U.S. employers added 280,000 jobs in May, as the national job market regained some of the momentum it lost earlier in the year.
Despite that performance, unemployment was up slightly in May, to 5.5 percent, from 5.4 percent in April, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Most of the job gains happened in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality and health care.
Professional and business services 63,000 jobs in May and 671,000 jobs during the past year, the bureau’s monthly report on payroll employment stated.
Like the unemployment rate – which might have gone up slightly because more people are looking for work – the number of people unemployed, 8.7 million, was essentially unchanged between April and May.
Both of those categories have shown little movement since February.
Health care added 47,000 jobs last month, while retail added 31,000 and construction added 17,000. The construction sector has added 273,000 jobs during the past year, according to the report.
Average hourly earnings among employees in the private sector rose eight cents, to $24.96, the report stated.
