US Nonfarm Payrolls rise 339,000 in May

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Friday that Nonfarm Payrolls rose 339,000 in May. This reading surpassed the market expectation of 190,000 by a wide margin. April’s reading of 253,000 also got revised higher to 294,000.

The Unemployment Rate climbed to 3.7% from 3.4% in the same period, while the Labor Force Participation rate remained unchanged at 62.6%. Finally, annual wage inflation, as measured by the changed in Average Hourly Earnings, edged lower to 4.3% from 4.4%.