The U.S. economy added created 339,000 new jobs in May, up from 294,000 in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This was higher than the consensus estimate of 190,000.
The unemployment rate rose to 3.7 percent last month, up from 3.4 percent. It also topped market forecasts of 3.5 percent.
Change in total non-farm payroll employment was revised up by 52,000 in March and 41,000 in April. In total, the BLS revised employment levels in March and April by a combined 93,000.
Employment gains were driven by professional and business services (64,000), government (56,000), health care (52,000), and leisure and hospitality (48,000). The construction and transportation and warehousing sectors added 25,000 and 24,000, respectively. The manufacturing industry shed 2,000….