May 2026 Employment Situation — 2026-06-05

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 172,000 in May, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, local government, and health care. Employment in financial activities declined. This news release presents statistics from two monthly surveys. The household survey measures labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics. The establishment survey measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. For more information about the concepts and statistical methodology used in these two surveys, see the Technical Note. The major labor market indicators from the survey of households continued to show little or no change in May. The unemployment rate held at 4.3 percent and has remained in a narrow range of 4.3 percent to 4.5 percent since July 2025. The number of unemployed people, at 7.3 million, changed little over the month.