The unemployment rate stayed at a low 4.3%.
The job market has been recovering this year from a miserable 2025, so far shrugging off higher energy prices and increased economic uncertainty since the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February.
This year, hiring has rebounded, averaging 76,000 new jobs a month from January through April. Big tax refunds — the product of President Donald Trump’s 2025 tax cuts — have given the economy a lift, offsetting the impact of higher energy prices since the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February.
The United States doesn’t need as many new jobs as it used to. The drop in illegal immigrants and rising Baby Boomer retirements mean that fewer people are competing for work. As a result, the so-called break-even point — the number of new jobs required to keep the unemployment rate stable — has likely dropped to near zero, from the 155,000 new jobs per month that was typical two or three years ago, according to a Federal Reserve report.
