Non-farm payrolls in the US gained only 69,000 jobs in May, far below Wall Street estimates and the least in over a year. The results roiled the markets, as economicts were expecting an increase of at least 165,000.

The unemployment rate rose to 8.2% from 8.1%, the first increase in 11 months, as more people entered the labor force despite a slowdown in hiring. This may have to do with the fact that many with extended unemployment benefits are now losing them. The labor force participation rate rose by 0.2 percentage points to 63.8% to come off a 25-year low, while hiring has slowed down after a bump up from December to February. Not a good sign.

The biggest increase in hiring last month took place in the transportation and warehouse sector. Companies in those fields added 36,000 jobs, mainly in transit and ground transportation.

Health care also created 33,000 new jobs, employment rose by 16,000 in wholesale trade and manufacturers added 12,000 jobs.

Employment fell by 28,000 in construction, bolstering the notion that a warm winter gave the industry a boost. The government also lost 13,000 jobs.

Most other industries saw little change in employment.

The average workweek, which tends to increase when the economy strengthens, fell by 0.1 hour to 34.4.

Average hourly earnings rose by 2 cents to $23.42. Hourly pay is only up 1.7% over the past year.

About 5.4 million Americans have been out of work for at least six months — up from 5.1 million in April. And a total of 12.7 million are officially classified as unemployed. – MarketWatch

See Full Report.