Job growth in May signaled that the U.S. economy is expanding despite obstacles. However, the trend line did not affect construction and several other industries, which experienced more modest job growth or even job losses.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its Employment Situation Summary on June 5. The data show that hiring in the country is on a healthy pace. The economy added 172,000 total nonfarm jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis in the month of May.

This matches the pace for April, when 179,000 nonfarm jobs were added from the previous month. The economy has also added about 500,000 jobs since May 2025.

The numbers show that hiring remains steady in the face of challenges affecting the economy, such as inflation and interest rates, war in the Middle East, tariffs and artificial intelligence.

The pattern caught the attention of economists earlier this year. In a January policy briefing, the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) noted that “the U.S. economy has shown remarkable resilience in the face of policy uncertainty and A.I.’s potential disruption.”

Concerning 2026, SIEPR added that “most forecasters expect modest job growth and a stable unemployment rate at around its current level.”

A closer look at the data reveals a more nuanced view of the trend, indicating that not all sectors experienced the same growth. According to the BLS summary, restaurants and bars (48,000), local governments (43,000) and healthcare services (35,000) added most of the new jobs in May.

At the same time, other industries, such as financial services, trade and some forms of manufacturing experienced a net loss in jobs.

Between the two extremes, many sectors saw only modest growth. For its part, construction added 17,000 new jobs. Of those, nonresidential specialty trade contractors, which include electrical contractors, added the most, with 11,400 new jobs in May.