Insights and Perspectives

Employment in the U.S. rose by 339,000 jobs. May’s unexpectedly strong results are compounded by the upward revisions in March and April that totaled 93,000 more jobs than reported last month.

April’s unexpectedly strong results are the second disruption to the slowing trend we have seen in hiring, since July 2022.

The March Labor Market Report shows that job growth has slowed. Although fewer, the representation remained a solid expansion, with an increase in the labor force participation rate.

Although the gains were smaller than the surprising 504,000 new jobs in January, the performance in February was still strong.

Employment in the U.S. rose by 517,000 jobs, the largest gain since July last year.

Despite employment figures increasing to 223,000 in December, which is 20,000 over The Wall Street Journal's prediction, growth has been gradually weakening since October 2021.

Despite fluctuations among indicators pointing to a slower pace of job creation, initial estimates over the last three months have been remarkably locked in place with September reporting 263,000 initial new jobs, October reporting 261,000 initial new jobs, and November reporting 263,000 initial new jobs.

Job creation was strongest in Education & Health Services, Professional & Business Services, and Leisure & Hospitality.

Geographic Solutions derives its employment forecast from internal data on the number of job searchers, job applications, job severances, and applications for unemployment benefits filed on Geographic Solutions state client sites.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its monthly Current Employment Statistics (CES) report and Current Population Survey (CPS) for May 2022 on Friday, June 3rd.