#Wages were strong: Avg hourly #earnings rose 0.4%, up 4.1% from a year earlier. That was also stronger than expected, since #WageIncreases have been easing since early 2022.
The household survey, from which the #unemployment rate is drawn, showed 408k fewer people #working in May than in April. That data has been out of joint for some time w/the survey of #employers, from which the #JobGrowth figure is tallied, suggesting revisions down the line.
In other data released this week, the ratio of #JobOpenings to #unemployed workers in April declined to prepandemic levels after peaking at more than two to one in early 2022. #Employers aren’t #hiring very quickly, but they’re not laying many people off, & #workers are less likely to quit their #jobs than they were in 2019.
The drop in #LaborForce participation came largely from those between the ages of 20–24, declining from 72.4% in April to 70.8% in May.