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The US economy saw an increase in hiring in May as restrictions eased, although fewer jobs were added than expected.
Employers created 559,000 jobs, driven by reopenings at restaurants, bars and hotels in particular.
That failed to meet economists’ expectations of 675,000 jobs being added.
However, the hiring did help lower the unemployment rate to 5.8% from the 6.1% seen in April.
In all, 9.3 million people remain unemployed – down considerably from the highs seen in April last year, although still well above the pre-pandemic measure of 5.7 million in February 2020.
The hospitality, education and healthcare sectors saw significant numbers of jobs being added as a vaccination drive continued and restrictions eased.
The number of jobs in restaurants, cafes and bars jumped by 292,000.
