Health care adds 62,200 jobs in May; federal employment still falling

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Health care added 62,200 jobs in May, part of overall job growth of 139,000 as the national unemployment remained steady at 4.2%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the U.S. Department of Labor.

The national jobless rate has remained in the range of 4% to 4.2% since May 2024, said jobs report published June 6. Overall there were approximately 7.2 million people unemployed.

The May numbers

Last month’s gain lagged slightly behind the average of 149,000 positions added each month over the last year. Health care outpaced its sector average monthly gain of 44,000 jobs a month.

In health care, hospitals led the sector with 29,900 jobs added in May. Home health serves hired 12,300 new workers. Offices of physicians added 9,800 new staff, while offices of other health practitioners created 5,300 new positions, according to the BLS report.

Skilled nursing care facilities hired 6,300 people, while outpatient care centers added 2,000 jobs. Hiring was flat in offices of dentists. Medical and diagnostic laboratories and other ambulatory health care services posted slight decreases of 200 and 400 jobs, respectively.

Government workers

Federal employment dropped by 22,000 in May and has decreased by 59,000 since January. Since the start of the second term of President Donald J. Trump, efforts to cut federal spending have included scaling down and firing the federal workforce, including in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Other sectors

In other sectors, leisure and hospitality added 48,000 workers, including 30,000 new employees in food services and drinking places. That rate outpaced the 12-month average of 20,000 new jobs. Social assistance employers hired 16,000 people. There was little change in other major industries, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; information; financial activities; professional and business services; and other services, the BLS report said.

White House responds

In a statement, “Trump Effect: Higher Pay for American Workers,” the White House noted transportation and warehousing added 5,800 jobs and construction posted its fourth straight month of job increases with 4,000 new positions.

“President Trump’s America First Economic Agenda has created a booming economy — jobs are up, unemployment is down, wages are increasing, and inflation is dead,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in that statement. “More than 139,000 good jobs were added to the private sector in May, all accounted for by American-born workers. Americans should continue to trust in President Trump, who continues to beat expectations.”

The White House statement also referred to the government jobs and the administration of predecessor President Joe Biden: “Since President Trump took office, 99.8% of job gains have been in the private sector. During the final two years of the Biden Administration, one in four jobs created were in government.”

A different figure

The federal figures were different from those published this week in the ADP National Employment Report, which stated private sector employment increased by 37,000 jobs in May, with annual wages up 4.5%.

“The pace of hiring in May reached its lowest level since March 2023,” the report said.

“After a strong start to the year, hiring is losing momentum,” ADP Chief Economist Nela Richardson said in the news release. “Pay growth, however, was little changed in May, holding at robust levels for both job-stayers and job-changers.”

The ADP report is compiled and published with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab.