US adds 272,000 jobs in May, much higher than estimates

ISTANBUL

The US economy added 272,000 jobs in May, much more than market estimates, according to Labor Department figures released Friday.

The market expectation for nonfarm payrolls was to show a gain of 182,000 last month.

Job additions for April, on the other hand, were revised down by 10,000, from 175,000 to 165,000.

The unemployment rate, meanwhile, rose to 4% in May from 3.9% in April.

The market estimate for the figure was to come in at 3.9%.

The number of unemployed people slightly increased to 6.6 million in May, from 6.5 million in April, while the labor force participation rate slightly fell to 62.5% from 62.7% during that period.