May Jobs Report: 175,000 Jobs Added; 4,900 Added in Architecture and Engineering

The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics released its May employment report this morning, which showed that the economy added 175,000 jobs in May, which was slightly larger than the 165,000 that economists were expecting. The unemployment rate ticked up to 7.6 percent, largely because the labor force rose by 420,000 workers.

The monthly revisions of past data also proved to be a mixed bag this month. March's 138,000 jobs added was revised up to 142,000—not a great number, but closer to the 150,000 needed for growth to keep pace with population growth. April's results, however, were revised down—from a promising 165,000 jobs added to 149,000. This undoubtedly also contributed to the rise in the unemployment rate.

The architectural and engineering services sector of the economy had another solid month, adding 4,900 jobs in May. In the past 12 months, the sector has added 27,400 jobs. This bests the 2,700 reported a month ago for April, and is the best result for architects and engineers in 2013.

Construction also added jobs overall—7,000 jobs, much better than the 6,000 jobs lost in April. The growth was uneven though, with residential construction adding less than 1,000 new workers and nonresidential construction losing 2,600 workers. Heavy and civilian construction added 3,100 jobs, and contractors had another good month with 5,800 new jobs added (mostly in residential work).