Jobs report
The May 2022 jobs report in charts
Employers added 301,000 jobs in May 2022, by the latest estimate, after adding 308,000 in April 2022. Over the 12 months to May 2022 they added an average of 572,000 a month. The unemployment rate was 3.6%, down from 3.7% in April 2022 and down from 5.8% in May 2021. Average hourly pay was $32.10, 5.6% more than a year earlier, while consumer prices rose 8.6% in the 12 months to May 2022, so pay fell behind prices.
Jobs added in May
301,000
Added 572,000 a month over 12 months
Unemployment rate
3.6%
Down from 3.7% in April 2022
Hourly pay, change over 12 months
5.6%
$32.10 an hour on average
Jobs added each month, May 2020 to May 2022
The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are in the table below.
The unemployment rate, May 2020 to May 2022
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How fast hourly pay is rising, May 2020 to May 2022
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The numbers
Each month to May 2022, newest first. A dash means BLS published no figure.
| Month | Jobs added | Unemployment rate | Hourly pay, 12-month change |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2022 | 301,000 | 3.6% | 5.6% |
| Apr 2022 | 308,000 | 3.7% | 5.8% |
| Mar 2022 | 490,000 | 3.7% | 5.9% |
| Feb 2022 | 819,000 | 3.9% | 5.3% |
| Jan 2022 | 190,000 | 4.0% | 5.6% |
| Dec 2021 | 586,000 | 3.9% | 4.9% |
| Nov 2021 | 658,000 | 4.1% | 5.4% |
| Oct 2021 | 801,000 | 4.5% | 5.4% |
| Sep 2021 | 457,000 | 4.7% | 5.0% |
| Aug 2021 | 552,000 | 5.1% | 4.4% |
| Jul 2021 | 942,000 | 5.4% | 4.3% |
| Jun 2021 | 755,000 | 5.9% | 3.9% |
| May 2021 | 478,000 | 5.8% | 2.3% |
| Apr 2021 | 355,000 | 6.1% | 0.6% |
| Mar 2021 | 852,000 | 6.1% | 4.5% |
| Feb 2021 | 517,000 | 6.2% | 5.3% |
| Jan 2021 | 315,000 | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| Dec 2020 | -185,000 | 6.7% | 5.4% |
| Nov 2020 | 273,000 | 6.7% | 4.6% |
| Oct 2020 | 690,000 | 6.9% | 4.6% |
| Sep 2020 | 949,000 | 7.8% | 4.8% |
| Aug 2020 | 1,566,000 | 8.4% | 4.8% |
| Jul 2020 | 1,584,000 | 10.2% | 4.9% |
| Jun 2020 | 4,631,000 | 11.0% | 5.0% |
| May 2020 | 2,614,000 | 13.2% | 6.6% |
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Sources and notes
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index (CPI-U, all items) (Public domain (U.S. government work)), data as of September 30, 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics (total nonfarm payroll employment) (Public domain (U.S. government work)), data as of September 30, 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics (average hourly earnings of all employees, total private) (Public domain (U.S. government work)), data as of September 30, 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey (Public domain (U.S. government work)), data as of September 30, 2026.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes each month's jobs report (the Employment Situation) early the next month. Jobs added and hourly pay come from its survey of employers' payrolls; the unemployment rate comes from its survey of households. All three are seasonally adjusted. These are the latest figures, so they include the revisions BLS makes in the two reports after each month and once a year, and can differ from what was first reported. Hourly pay is in dollars of the day, not adjusted for inflation, and its average jumped in spring 2020 because mostly lower-paid people lost their jobs, not because pay rose. BLS published no unemployment rate for October 2025, when a lapse in federal funding stopped the household survey.