Nonfarm payrolls rose 139,000 for the month, above the Dow Jones estimate for 125,000 and a bit below the downwardly revised 147,000 in April. The unemployment rate held at 4.2%.

Worker pay grew more than expected, with average hourly earnings up 0.4% during the month and 3.9% from a year ago.

Nearly half the job growth came from health care, which added 62,000. Leisure and hospitality contributed 48,000, while social assistance added 16,000.

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Hiring decreased just slightly in May even as consumers and companies braced against tariffs and a potentially slowing economy, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

Nonfarm payrolls rose 139,000 for the month, above the muted Dow Jones estimate for 125,000 and a bi

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