The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the US economy gained 223,000 jobs in May 2019, pushing the unemployment rate down to 3.5%. This marks the lowest unemployment rate since December 1969. The total number of unemployed people in the US dropped to 5.8 million.
At the same time, wage growth slowed from the previous month, with average hourly earnings up just 2.7% from a year ago. This is the lowest year-over-year wage growth since July 2018.
The data suggests that the US labor market is still relatively healthy, but that wage growth is not keeping up with job growth. This could be an indication that businesses are finding it difficult to fill positions, despite the low unemployment rate.
Overall, the BLS data shows that the US economy is continuing to add jobs at a steady pace, while wage growth is lagging behind.