Economic Review: June 2022 Sunpointe Illuminations

The 390,000 new jobs added to the U.S. economy in May exceeded expectations. The unemployment rate held steady at 3.6% and average hourly earnings moderated a bit at an annualized rate of 5.2%. The strength of payrolls in May was widespread, with solid gains in professional & business services employment (+75,000), leisure & hospitality (+84,000), construction (+36,000) and manufacturing (+18,000). The one weak spot was retail, where employment fell by 61,000. Elements of the May report show signs of a deceleration in wage growth, but thus far the slowing is not sufficient to let the Fed alter their plans for additional 50 bps rate hikes.