Editor’s note: This article was updated to add details and context.
The U.S. labor market added 115,000 nonfarm payrolls last month, blowing past economist forecasts for 62,000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
The print marks a slight deceleration from the prior month’s upwardly revised 185,000 gain.
The unemployment rate held at 4.3%, unchanged from the previous reading and in line with the 4.3% consensus.
Average hourly earnings rose 0.2% month-over-month, missing the 0.3% estimate. On an annual basis, pay climbed 3.6%, landing just below the 3.8% forecast.
Job gains were concentrated in health care (+37,000), transportation and warehousing (+30,000), and retail trade (+22,000). Federal government employment continued its slide, falling by another 9,000 — and is now down 348,000, or 11.5%, …
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