U.S. employers added just 75,000 jobs in May, a sharp decline from the month prior and a far cry from what economists were expecting.
The U.S. unemployment rate remained at 3.6 percent — or 5.9 million people — in May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Friday in its monthly jobs report.
May’s dismal jobs growth is far below the average 164,000 in 2019, suggesting that economic growth is slowing in the U.S. The average monthly gain for 2018 was 223,000 jobs.
"This relatively weak number may reflect some risk aversion on the part of employers in the face of increased uncertainty in the economy, stemming from trade tensions and global economic weakening," Doug Duncan, chief economist at Fannie Mae, said in a statement to Cheddar.
The industries with the largest gains were professional and business services and health care, which added over 33,000 and 16,000 jobs in May respectively. The construction sector added roughly 4,000 jobs.
In May, average hourly earnings also increased 0.2 percent, or 6 cents.
The jobs report come amid enduring economic tension between two of the U.S.’ most significant trading partners: China and Mexico.
After several days of negotiations in Washington this week, U.S. and Mexican officials failed to reach an agreement and avoid President Trump’s punitive 5 percent tariff hike set to go into effect on June 10.
“There are some questions on how the proposed tariffs are going to impact businesses in the United States,” Beth Akers, a senior fellow at the economic think tank the Manhattan Institute, told Cheddar. “Businesses are responding with hesitance to expand their labor pools.”
The White House first threatened tariffs on Mexican imports in May in an effort to force Mexico to curb migration at the U.S. southern border. The move set markets tumbling and was immediately met with backlash from businesses and politicians from both sides of the aisle.
“The President has said what he means and he meant what he said. We made that very clear to the Mexican delegation yesterday — that for anything to change, either before or after Monday, Mexico has to step up,” Vice President Mike Pence told reporters on Thursday. "Mexico has to take decisive action to end this surge of illegal immigration that is literally overwhelming our southern border.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders reiterated the administration's stance on Friday, saying “our position hasn’t changed. Tariffs are going to take effect on Monday,” according to public pool reports.
Joe Cecela, Dream Exchange CEO, explains how they are aiming to form the first minority-controlled company to operate an exchange in U.S. history. Watch!
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
