US Labor Market Slows Despite Job Adds in May

Commuters cross Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, during the morning rush hour. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images)
Commuters cross Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, during the morning rush hour. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images)
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US Labor Market Slows Despite Job Adds in May

Commuters cross Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, during the morning rush hour. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images)
Commuters cross Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, during the morning rush hour. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images)

The United States added 139,000 jobs in May, more than expected but pointing to a labor market that continues to slow.

The employment data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics exceeded forecasts for about 120,000 payroll gains but marked a decline from the revised 147,000 jobs added in April. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%, remaining near historic lows.

Stocks surged at Friday's open, with all three major indexes gaining about 1%.

In return, US government borrowing costs climbed as investors anticipated the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates higher for longer, making it less attractive to hold US debt.

The BLS report showed job losses in the federal government continued to pile up, with that sector shedding 22,000 roles in May alone.

The federal workforce is down by 59,000 since January, largely due to sweeping cuts by the Trump administration and multibillionaire tech executive Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency project.

Even as the economy continued to add jobs at a relatively steady clip last month, the report showed other signs of a weakening labor market.

The ratio of employed workers to the total population fell to 59.7%, its lowest since the pandemic.

An alternative measure of unemployment that includes “discouraged” workers, or those who have stopped looking for work, returned to a post-pandemic high of 4.5%.

But President Donald Trump cheered the numbers, posting on his Truth Social platform Friday morning: “AMERICA IS HOT! SIX MONTHS AGO IT WAS COLD AS ICE! BORDER IS CLOSED, PRICES ARE DOWN. WAGES ARE UP!”

Trump had urged Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to slash interest rates by a full percentage point.

“Too Late' at the Fed is a disaster!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

In reality, employers added 212,000 jobs in November, unemployment was at 4.1%, the 12-month average of hourly pay gains have softened from nearly 4.2% then to 3.9% in May, and both the labor force participation rate and the employment-to-population ratio were slightly higher.

Only consumer prices have meaningfully cooled, ticking down from an annual inflation rate of 2.7% in November to 2.3% in April, the latest month with available data.

Analysts at Capital Economics called the May jobs report “not as good as it looks.”

Still, they wrote in a note Friday, “it shows that tariffs are having little negative impact” and added that the Federal Reserve is likely to continue holding interest rates steady “while it assesses the effects of policy changes on the economy.”



World Bank: New $250 Million Project to Kickstart Reconstruction in Lebanon

Cars and motorbikes drive near damaged buildings in Beirut southern suburbs, Lebanon June 23, 2025. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Cars and motorbikes drive near damaged buildings in Beirut southern suburbs, Lebanon June 23, 2025. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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World Bank: New $250 Million Project to Kickstart Reconstruction in Lebanon

Cars and motorbikes drive near damaged buildings in Beirut southern suburbs, Lebanon June 23, 2025. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Cars and motorbikes drive near damaged buildings in Beirut southern suburbs, Lebanon June 23, 2025. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

The World Bank Board of Executive Directors has approved $250 million in financing for Lebanon to aid in the reconstruction of critical public infrastructure and the management of rubble in areas affected by the Israel-Hezbollah war.

“The Lebanon Emergency Assistance Project (LEAP) will prioritize and sequence interventions to maximize economic and social impact within the shortest timeframe and provide a phased approach to response, recovery and reconstruction,” the World Bank said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA) of the impact of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah between October 8, 2023, and December 20, 2024, estimated total direct damages across 10 sectors at $7.2 billion, and reconstruction and recovery needs at $11 billion.

Damage to critical infrastructure and buildings that are critical to economic activity and to the health and safety of communities was estimated at $1.1 billion across the transport, water, energy, municipal services, education and health care sectors. Considering the scale of needs, the LEAP was designed to support restoration of public infrastructure and buildings, given this is a precondition to economic and social recovery.

“Given Lebanon’s large reconstruction needs, the LEAP is structured as a $1 billion scalable framework with an initial $250 million contribution from the World Bank and the ability to efficiently absorb additional financing—whether grants or loans—under a unified, government-led implementation structure that emphasizes transparency, accountability, and results,” said World Bank Middle East Division Director Jean-Christophe Carret.

“This framework offers a credible vehicle for development partners to align their support, alongside continued progress on the Government’s reform agenda, and maximize collective impact in support of Lebanon’s recovery and long-term reconstruction,” he added.

The WB financing will support immediate response activities required to accelerate recovery and create the conditions that favor a return to normality, including the safe and well-planned management of rubble that maximizes the reuse and recycling of rubble. Critical support will also be provided to the rapid repair and recovery of essential services, such as water, energy, transport, health, education and municipal services.

The LEAP framework will also support the reconstruction of severely damaged infrastructure, starting with designs and environment and social assessments financed through WB initial financing.

To ensure the Project’s operational readiness and its efficient and prompt implementation, the Lebanese government has undertaken critical reform measures in the project’s implementing agency, the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR), the World Bank said in its statement.

The measures include the establishment of a complete and functional CDR Board of Directors and streamlining administrative and decision-making processing for the LEAP, in line with international best practices for emergency projects.

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