When the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the nation added two hundred and eighty thousand jobs in May, much focus was given to that headline number. Weak economic performance during the first three months of twenty fifteen has raised concerns that hiring would soften, but that hasn’t happened to date.
Economists had expected the May jobs report to produce an estimate closer to two hundred and twenty five thousand jobs, so many felt considerable relief when the announced estimate blew through those expectations. Less attention was given to the quality of jobs added in May. Here, too, there is good news. A number of segments that produce high quality positions added significant numbers of jobs in May, including health care, which created forty seven thousand net new jobs last month.
Business services, which encompasses segments like accounting and marketing positions, added sixty three thousand jobs. Construction chipped in seventeen thousand new positions and financial services another thirteen thousand. Steadily expanding demand for labor has begun to push wages higher, with wages expanding in May at the highest level in nearly two years.
