{"id":1277,"date":"2026-06-05T16:04:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T16:04:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1277"},"modified":"2026-06-05T16:04:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T16:04:30","slug":"the-us-job-market-is-strong-but-many-americans-are-still-frustrated-by-prospects-and-rising-prices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1277","title":{"rendered":"The US job market is strong but many Americans are still frustrated by prospects and rising prices"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…<\/strong><\/div>\n
\n

By PAUL WISEMAN and ANNE D\u2019INNOCENZIO, AP Business Writers<\/strong><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The American job market continues to show surprising strength \u2014 good news for President Donald Trump who has\u00a0taken a beating\u00a0in the polls over the surging\u00a0gasoline prices\u00a0that followed U.S. and Israeli\u00a0attacks on Iran.<\/p>\n

Read more Denver weather: Summer heat returns this weekend<\/a><\/p>\n

Employers added 172,000 jobs in May \u2013 roughly double what forecasters had expected \u2013 and the unemployment rate remained at a low 4.3%, the Labor Department reported Friday.<\/p>\n

Job growth was down slightly last month from a revised 179,000 in April.<\/p>\n

Hiring has bounced back this year from a miserable 2025, showing resilience in the face of economic uncertainty and painfully\u00a0high energy prices\u00a0since the Iran war started in late February.<\/p>\n

The job gains are broad-based. Local governments added 55,000 workers, restaurants and bars 48,000, healthcare companies 35,000.<\/p>\n

In another sign of job market strength, Labor Department revisions added a combined 93,000 jobs in March and April. Job growth averaged 188,000 a month from March through May, marking the best three months of hiring since early 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hiring recession is over. American firms are hiring again,\u2019\u2019 said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union. \u201cThe job rebound is happening in almost every industry \u2026 This is encouraging news for job seekers and for the U.S. economy. The labor market has stabilized and is showing early signs of a genuine rebound.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

With just five months to go before consequential midterm elections in the U.S., Americans have grown increasingly frustrated by rising costs, and it\u2019s unclear if the strong job numbers this year will change their gloomy view of the economy.<\/p>\n

Inflation data\u00a0last week showed that in addition to gasoline, prices for groceries, clothing and electricity are also on the rise, indicating that inflation may be growing more entrenched.<\/p>\n

Polls show that Trump\u2019s approval rating on the economy is\u00a0falling sharply\u00a0after being reelected largely on the promise of taming inflation.<\/p>\n

And despite the pickup in hiring, wage gains were modest. Average hourly wages rose 0.3% from April and 3.4% from May 2025.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Many young people are still finding it tough to break into a stagnant job market. And workers who have been laid off struggle to get back to work. Nearly 28% of the unemployed in April had been jobless for more than six months, biggest share since December 2021.<\/p>\n

But the labor market is clearly improving. Last year, employers added 9,700 jobs a month, the fewest outside a recession since 2002. Hiring has rebounded, averaging 114,000 new jobs a month so far this year.<\/p>\n

Friday\u2019s report \u201creally is a positive surprise, particularly given the headwinds from the Iran conflict, which clearly led to much higher energy prices and which are going to act to slow economic activity to some degree,\u2019\u2019 said Ryan Nunn, research director at Yale University\u2019s Budget Lab.<\/p>\n

The economy, Nunn said, has been boosted by a surge in investment in artificial intelligence. Also helping are lower tariff rates since President Donald Trump has effectively lowered the massive import taxes he imposed last year \u2013 and the Supreme Court in February\u00a0struck down\u00a0his most sweeping levies, setting the stage for businesses to get back money they\u2019d paid.<\/p>\n

Read more RFK Jr. seeks to peek at Americans\u2019 medical records for clues on autism and vaccines<\/a><\/p>\n

Big tax refunds \u2014 the product of Trump\u2019s 2025 tax cuts \u2014 have given the economy a lift, offsetting the impact of higher energy prices. But the refunds have mostly been pocketed, and gasoline prices have remained above $4 per gallon since March.<\/p>\n

U.S. financial markets retreated after the jobs data was released Friday. Healthy hiring has raised the odds that the Fed\u2019s next move will be an interest rate increase, a sharp change from the start of the year when central bank officials had still penciled in two rate cuts for 2026.<\/p>\n

Wall Street now expects a rate hike in December, which would be sharply at odds with Trump\u2019s repeated demands for a cut. An increase by the Fed could lead, over time, to higher borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans, and business loans.<\/p>\n

\u201cHigher rates are coming, particularly when inflation is above target and clearly moving in the wrong direction,\u201d said Dario Perkins, an economist at TS Lombard. \u201cThe only question is when.\u201d<\/p>\n

Uncle Giuseppe\u2019s Marketplace, which operates 12 grocery stores across New York and New Jersey, is on a hiring spree. President Mike Nelson announced last fall that he wanted to add 1,000 workers over the next year, pushing the company\u2019s payrolls past 3,500.<\/p>\n

Nelson says his problem is finding skilled workers, like butchers and cake decorators.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking for a butcher who can cut meat in the store and engage with our customers and give them cooking ideas and speak to them about what makes the product special,\u201d he said. \u201cYou don\u2019t find that everywhere now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like other chains, Uncle Giuseppe\u2019s has benefited as Americans cut back on dinners out because of soaring gas prices. The company is marketing specials to lure inflation-scarred shoppers, like a $39.99 chicken Parmesan and pasta meal for a family of four that includes a loaf of bread and a salad.<\/p>\n

Michael Wieder, the co-founder of the baby products maker Lalo, is also hiring a few new workers.<\/p>\n

Wieder is feeling optimistic because he expects $2 million in tariff refunds after the trade policies of President Trump were shot down by the courts. He is planning to use that money for hiring, but gotten less than $50,000 in refunds so far.<\/p>\n

He has roughly 20 employees who work in marketing, operations, customer service and other areas for his New York company. He said he\u2019s looking for applicants that will embrace artificial intelligence. Lalo has already been using AI tools in areas like marketing and plans to launch an AI tool on Monday that helps parents potty train their children.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re evaluating the type of people we hire in this rapidly changing environment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

AP Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber contributed to this report. Anne D\u2019Innocenzio reported from New York.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Read more Colorado still trying to figure out Medicaid work requirements as clock ticks<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. employers added a surprising 172,000 jobs in May as the labor market continued to show resilience in the face of rising costs from the Iran war.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1276,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nThe US job market is strong but many Americans are still frustrated by prospects and rising prices - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1277\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The US job market is strong but many Americans are still frustrated by prospects and rising prices - Colorado Springs Moverss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"U.S. employers added a surprising 172,000 jobs in May as the labor market continued to show resilience in the face of rising costs from the Iran war.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1277\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colorado Springs Moverss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-05T16:04:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1277#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1277\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\"},\"headline\":\"The US job market is strong but many Americans are still frustrated by prospects and rising prices\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-05T16:04:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1277\"},\"wordCount\":1040,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1277#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/d6e3161654882673d8c4ec1d7fb82308.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"National News\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1277#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1277\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1277\",\"name\":\"The US job market is strong but many Americans are still frustrated by prospects and rising prices - Colorado Springs Moverss\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1277#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1277#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/d6e3161654882673d8c4ec1d7fb82308.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-05T16:04:30+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1277#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1277\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1277#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/d6e3161654882673d8c4ec1d7fb82308.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/d6e3161654882673d8c4ec1d7fb82308.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":682},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1277#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The US job market is strong but many Americans are still frustrated by prospects and rising prices\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Colorado Springs Moverss\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The US job market is strong but many Americans are still frustrated by prospects and rising prices - Colorado Springs Moverss","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1277","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The US job market is strong but many Americans are still frustrated by prospects and rising prices - Colorado Springs Moverss","og_description":"U.S. employers added a surprising 172,000 jobs in May as the labor market continued to show resilience in the face of rising costs from the Iran war.","og_url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1277","og_site_name":"Colorado Springs Moverss","article_published_time":"2026-06-05T16:04:30+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1277#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1277"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c"},"headline":"The US job market is strong but many Americans are still frustrated by prospects and rising prices","datePublished":"2026-06-05T16:04:30+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1277"},"wordCount":1040,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1277#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/d6e3161654882673d8c4ec1d7fb82308.webp","articleSection":["National News","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1277#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1277","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1277","name":"The US job market is strong but many Americans are still frustrated by prospects and rising prices - Colorado Springs Moverss","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1277#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1277#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/d6e3161654882673d8c4ec1d7fb82308.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-05T16:04:30+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1277#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1277"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1277#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/d6e3161654882673d8c4ec1d7fb82308.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/d6e3161654882673d8c4ec1d7fb82308.webp","width":1024,"height":682},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1277#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The US job market is strong but many Americans are still frustrated by prospects and rising prices"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/","name":"Colorado Springs Moverss","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com"],"url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1277\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}