The May 2023 Jobs Report & April 2023 JOLTS: The Current U.S. Employment Situation

May’s job numbers were much higher than economists predicted, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s May 2023 jobs report. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 339,000 last month, 149,000 higher than the Dow Jones estimate. Despite the job growth, though, the unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.7%, the highest it’s been since October 2022. The number of unemployed persons also rose by 440,000 to 6.1 million.

The April 2023 Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS) released Wednesday showed that the number of job openings increased to 10.1 million at the end of the month. The total number of separations dipped from 5.9 million to 5.7 million. However, voluntary quits remained the same as March at 3.8 million and at a rate of 2.4%, just one percentage point higher than pre-pandemic levels. That number has been dropping or staying stagnant for several months now, suggesting that the Great Resignation is no more. The number of layoffs and discharges also dropped in April to 1.6 million.

Other noteworthy statistics from the reports:

• While unemployment did jump in May, the labor force participation rate remained the same, indicating that the increase in unemployment was from people who lost their jobs permanently and those who completed a temporary job.
• Average hourly wages grew by 0.3% last month and were up 4.3% over the last year, just beating the Wall Street forecast of 4.2%.
• The number of jobs added in April was revised up by 41,000 to 294,000.

A few industries hiring right now drove the high jobs numbers, including professional and business services, healthcare, construction, and transportation and warehousing. However, the manufacturing, mining, financial activities, information, retail, and other services industries saw no growth.

iHire is here to help both job seekers and employers take advantage of the strong job market and find your next great opportunity or team member.