Published 17 days ago • loading... • Updated 17 days ago

Jill On Money: The US labor market is cooling

The US economy added 139,000 jobs in May 2025, with unemployment steady at 4.2 percent and wage growth rising 3.9 percent year-over-year.
This followed revisions lowering job growth by 95,000 for the prior two months and reflected a continued slowdown from averages of 251,000 in 2023 and 168,000 in 2024 to 124,000 in 2025.
In May, private sector job growth slowed dramatically, with only 37,000 positions created—the smallest increase in more than two years—while CEO confidence plunged by 26 points in the second quarter of 2025, reaching a record low of 34.
Healthcare, social assistance, and hospitality sectors accounted for over 90% of job gains, even as workforce participation fell and nearly one million workers moved from employed to unemployed.
These trends indicate a cooling labor market with persistent uncertainties, where job opportunities cluster in select sectors and cautious hiring signals a possible pause in economic expansion.

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