Job Growth Slows in May to 54,000

Washington, DC, June 3, 2011 -- U.S. job gains fell sharply in May and the unemployment rate moved higher, the Labor Department estimated Friday.

Nonfarm payrolls rose by a seasonally adjusted 54,000 in May. This is the smallest gain since September and a fraction of the 125,000 jobs expected by economists.

That forecast had been cut in recent days.

The official unemployment rate increased to 9.1% in May from 9.0% in April. This is the highest unemployment rate since December. Economists were expected a slight drop in the jobless rate to 8.9%.

Labor Department officials rejected the notion that severe weather had affected the report.

“We found no clear impact of the disasters on the national employment and unemployment data for May,” said Keith Hall, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in a statement.

Total payrolls were revised down by 39,000 for March and April. March’s gain was revised to 194,000 from 221,000, while April’s gain of 244,000 was revised to a gain of 232,000.