Retail segment in the US has witnessed slight growth in jobs

The US Department of Labor Statistics, however, views the spike as "little changed over the month".

When shifts in the seasons were taken into account, the US retail trade industry gained 11,600 jobs in May, up from the 10,000 positions added in April. The US Department of Labor Statistics, however, views the spike as "little changed over the month" because of the moderate growth. However, the May figure still shows growth over the previous year, when the retail trade sector lost 51,400 jobs. Overall, the US labor market showed resiliency by growing by 339,000 seasonally adjusted jobs, exceeding economists' predictions of about 200,000 job growth. Professional services, government, health care, construction, transportation, and warehousing saw the majority of the job growth.

Despite this encouraging development, the unemployment rate increased slightly from 3.4 to 3.7 percent, leaving 6.1 million people without jobs. As opposed to the 10,000 jobs that were seasonally adjusted for creation in April, the manufacturing sector lost 2,000 jobs in May. Industry executives, including Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, are concerned about this fall in job numbers. He voiced hope for the future of American manufacturing, pointing to the rise in the number of factories being built. Nevertheless, he emphasized the need to address the current employment shortfall, which is partially due to the Federal Reserve's interest rate increases.