AP Images / Richard Drew
US stocks soared on Friday after the May jobs report revealed an unexpected drop in unemployment and net job creation.
The …
AP Images / Richard Drew
US stocks soared on Friday after the May jobs report revealed an unexpected drop in unemployment and net job creation.
The unemployment rate declined to 13.3% in May from 14.7%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said, despite forecasts of a 19% rate. US employers added 2.5 million payrolls through the month, while economists had anticipated 7.5 million lost jobs.
The May gain marked the nation’s biggest single-month jobs increase since 1939.
Here’s where US indexes stood at the 4 p.m. ET market close on Friday:
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The report gave investors hoping for a rapid labor-market recovery their most optimistic sign yet. Unemployment-claims data released on Thursday suggested that joblessness was still on a downward trend, with 1.9 million Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week. Wednesday’s ADP report beat economists’ expectations but still showed 2.76 million jobs lost last month.
Friday’s report hinted that widespread stimulus and economic reopenings had acted faster than anticipated to lift the US from its deep recession.
