The United States labor market defied economist projections in May, delivering stronger-than-forecast job growth that was heavily fueled by stepped-up hiring at food and beverage establishments ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup co-hosted by North America. Data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday shows the economy added a total of 172,000 nonfarm payroll positions last month, far outpacing the consensus forecast of 105,000 that experts had published ahead of the report.
Nearly 41% of all new jobs created in May were concentrated in the leisure and hospitality sector, which added 70,000 positions overall. That marks a dramatic acceleration from the sector’s average monthly gain of just 14,000 over the preceding 12 months. Food and drinking services alone accounted for 48,000 of those new leisure and hospitality roles, as businesses scaled up their workforces to meet expected surges in customer demand during the upcoming summer soccer tournament, which is being jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Beyond leisure and hospitality, solid job gains were also recorded in local government and health care, offsetting a decline in employment across the financial sector. The national unemployment rate held steady at 4.3% in May, remaining near multi-decade lows despite ongoing economic headwinds. In an additional positive revision, the BLS updated its previously published payroll numbers for March and April, finding that job growth in those two months was a combined 93,000 higher than initially reported, underscoring the unexpected resilience of the U.S. labor market.
Analysts note that this robust hiring trend has persisted even as businesses face rising operational costs tied to geopolitical tensions stemming from the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran. The stronger-than-expected May jobs report adds new complexity to discussions about the future of U.S. monetary policy, as policymakers balance persistent labor market strength against ongoing efforts to cool inflation.