U.S. Added 139K Jobs in May, Roughly In Line With Forecasts
The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.2%, also matching economist forecasts.
U.S. labor market growth continued to modestly slow in May, but not enough to force a rise in the unemployment rate.
Nonfarm payrolls grew 139,000 last month versus economist forecasts for 130,000 and April's 147,000 (revised from an originally reported 177,000).
The unemployment rate for May was 4.2% against expectations for 4.2% and April's 4.2%.
In the midst of a strong rebound following yesterday's sharp declines, the price of bitcoin BTC rose a small bit further following the news to just above $104,000.
Always a closely-followed print, the May payrolls data was of particular import this time around as a string of economic reports this week pointed to growing economic weakness. Among them were the slowest ADP jobs growth in more than two years, ISM Services slipping into levels suggesting economic contraction and a rise in initial jobless claims to the highest level since October.
Nearing 4.50% as the week began, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield slipped to as low as 4.32% and the odds of a summer Fed rate cut(s) had risen appreciably ahead of this morning's report.
