The May Jobs Report Destroys Expectations

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The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the May jobs report on Friday, which destroyed expectations, with an additional 172,000 jobs added to the economy, more than double what economists expected. The report is strong news for the Trump administration, with last month’s figures also revised up by more than 60,000 jobs, from 115,000 jobs, to 179,00 jobs, extending a three-month streak of robust job growth.

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Of the 172,000 jobs added to the United States economy in May, 120,000 of them were in the private sector, 

Unemployment rates remained unchanged at 4.3 percent.

"With a great Jobs Report, like just announced, stocks should go up, not down," the president wrote on Truth Social, in response to the report. "That’s the way it was for 200 years. Growth does not mean inflation! How else can a Country attain GREATNESS??? President DJT."

“What we’re seeing here is the catch-up from last year where employers were on pause” Sarah House, a senior economist at Wells Fargo, said. “Employers have a better sense of the growth backdrop.” 

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"You know, I think that basically what we're seeing is an enormous amount of positive momentum in hiring," the Director of the National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, said. "Obviously, you're right that a couple of hundred and seventies in a row, that's a great couple of months. But then having upper divisions of around 100,000 means that this is a job market that's hitting on all cylinders. And it's our belief that this is happening because of all of the supply-side policies that the president has put in place."

"We've got the Big, Beautiful Bill with the, you know, expensing for new factories. We've got, you know, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime. So people are out there working harder. We've got quit rates down to about as low as we've ever seen. We've got layoffs about as low as we've ever seen. This is about the strongest market of my lifetime and of your lifetime," he added. "And again, I don't think it's a classic Phillips curve. Here goes inflation. It's going to take off kind of jobs market. It's a supply side driven job market boom, which I think means that the Fed can watch the inflation numbers and wait a while before it does anything about it."

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However, with unemployment still moderately high and job growth rebounding, the Federal Reserve may now consider raising interest rates rather than cutting them, posing a new test for Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, whom President Trump appointed to replace Jerome Powell. The president had expressed frustration with Powell for not cutting rates, but as Americans’ spending power rises in a strong labor market, the risk of inflation picking back up increases, with inflation still above the Fed’s two percent target rate.

Still, Friday’s jobs report is a promising sign for the American economy as the United States moves out of the hiring rut that defined much of 2025.

Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and bold policies, America’s economy is back on track.

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