Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release — 2018-06-01

Advance copies of this statement are made available to the press under lock-up conditions with the explicit understanding that the data are embargoed until 8:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 223,000 in May, and the unemployment rate edged down to 3.8 percent. Over the month, employment continued to trend up in several industries, including retail trade, health care, and construction. Incorporating revisions for March and April, which increased nonfarm payroll employment by 15,000 on net, monthly job gains have averaged 179,000 over the past 3 months. In May, retail trade employment increased by 31,000, with job gains in general merchandise stores (+13,000) and in building material and garden supply stores (+6,000). Retail trade has added 125,000 jobs over the year. Health care employment rose by 29,000 over the month and is up by 318,000 over the year.