May Jobs Report Shows Strong Labor Market Growth, Recession Fears Recede
By
Justin Wolfers
A baker's-dozen of insight crammed into one ring.
Summary
The May jobs report showed strong payroll growth of +172k, beating expectations, with upward revisions for April (+64k to +179k) and March (+29k to +214k). The three-month average of +188k jobs indicates a robust labor market, suggesting recession concerns are unwarranted. Unemployment is stabilizing at healthy levels, which may shift the Fed's focus more toward inflation concerns.
Key quotes
· 5 pulledPayrolls grew a massive +172k in May, well above expectations.
The labor market appears to be motoring along — an average of +188k jobs over the past three months — after a slow 2025.
When the labor market looks like this, take that recession talk off the table.
Unemployment is stabilizing at a reasonably happy level.
All this points to the Fed turning its attention more fully to...
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