U.S. Job Market Pushes Past Shocks and Strains

The labor market has shifted into a higher gear, powering through an energy shock and immigration restrictions to pull more people into work even as consumers sour on an economy that is straining their wallets.The vigorous pace of hiring over the past few months is a reversal from the stagnation of 2025, a year of unpredictability and dislocation that led businesses to put hiring plans on ice.And yet, Americans remain in a foul state of mind as wages fail to keep pace with surging prices for gasoline and food.Employers added 172,000 jobs in May, blowing past expectations, while the unemployment rate remained at 4.3 percent for the third month in a row.

With upward revisions to the previous two months, the economy has packed on 114,000 jobs per month on average this year, up from only 10,000 in 2025.The consecutive months of strong growth, with no signs of increasing layoffs, are evidence that businesses have shaken off a period of paralysis last year — a hangover from a hiring binge after the Covid-19 pandemic and wild swings in policy from the Trump administration.“People look ahead, they see all the growth that’s going to come years from now, and it’s making them feel wealthier, so they spend.It’s making them feel more optimistic, so they invest,” said James Egelhof, chief U.S.

economist for the financial services company BNP Paribas.“We think that’s translating into a pickup in labor demand.”Tax breaks enacted in 2026 as well as the artificial intelligence investment boom have fueled a sense that it might finally be time to splurge, Mr.

Egelhof said.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe....