UPDATE 2 - US adds 272,000 jobs in May, much higher than estimates

ADDS PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN'S COMMENTS

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The US economy added 272,000 jobs in May, much more than market estimates, according to Labor Department figures released Friday.

The market expectation for nonfarm payrolls was to show a gain of 182,000 last month.

Job additions for April, on the other hand, were revised down by 10,000, from 175,000 to 165,000.

The unemployment rate, meanwhile, rose to 4% in May from 3.9% in April.

The market estimate for the figure was to come in at 3.9%.

The number of unemployed people slightly increased to 6.6 million in May, from 6.5 million in April, while the labor force participation rate slightly fell to 62.5% from 62.7% during that period.

The labor force participation rate slightly declined to 62.5% in May, 0.2 percentage points from 62.7% in April, according to the figures.

The employment-population ratio also decreased slightly by 0.1 percentage point to 60.1% from 60.2% during that period.

In May, the number of people not in the labor force who currently want a job stood at 5.7 million, the Labor Department said in a statement.

"These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job," it added.

Last month, most employment was seen in health care services with a gain of 43,000. This was followed by government employment with 43,000 and leisure and hospitality with 42,000.

In May, average hourly earnings for all employees on private non-farm payrolls increased by 0.4%, compared to April.

That figure showed an annual increase of 4.1%, compared to the same month of 2023.

President Joe Biden later said in a statement released by the White House that the US "still have to make more progress."

"On my watch, 15.6 million more Americans have the dignity and respect that comes with a job," he said. "Unemployment has been at or below 4% for 30 months—the longest stretch in 50 years. And a record high share of working-age women have jobs."

Biden said he is fighting to lower the cost of health care and prescription drugs, like insulin and inhalers, make rent more affordable by building two million new homes, and added: "I’m fighting corporate greed by calling on corporations with record profits to lower prices—as Target and Walmart have for grocery prices."