By Lily Martis
Amid heightened economic uncertainty, overall job numbers appear steady heading into summer. On par with its average monthly gain, the economy expanded by 139,000 jobs in May, according to the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) jobs report, thanks to mainstay sectors like healthcare and social assistance and a summertime spike in leisure and hospitality employment. However, little job growth was seen in other major industries, while federal government jobs continued to decline by 22,000.
“The concentration of 79% of May’s job growth in healthcare and leisure and hospitality reflects both structural demographic pressures and seasonal normalization in the service sector,” says Monster Economist Giacomo Santangelo. “However, this narrow sectoral base, combined with manufacturing weakness and broad-based services stagnation, suggests a bifurcated labor market heading into summer. Given the JOLTs report showing increased openings (+4%) alongside slower actual hiring, we anticipate a selective summer hiring environment with robust demand in consumer-facing services and healthcare, but continued restraint in goods-producing and trade-sensitive sectors as businesses await tariff policy clarification.”
Below, we shared our breakdown of these job numbers along with key takeaways to help employers plan for the months ahead.
Healthcare Remains Resilient
A pillar of job creation amid economic uncertainty, healthcare topped the BLS monthly jobs report once again with gains of 62,000 in May. Likewise, healthcare employers continued to dominate Monster job boards in their hiring efforts. Active job postings for registered nurses remain #1 overall on site, while other top healthcare jobs hiring this month include:
- Physical therapists (#3 overall)
- Radiological technologists (#5 overall)
- Critical care nurses (#7 overall)
- Radiologic technicians (#9 overall)
“Healthcare’s exceptional hiring resilience stems from fundamental demand inelasticity that insulates the sector from conventional economic cycles,” Santangelo says. “Unlike sectors vulnerable to tariff-induced cost shocks, healthcare demand exhibits low-income elasticity and near-zero price elasticity of demand for essential services. This, coupled with an aging population, creates structural employment pressure, with approximately 10,000 Americans turning 65 every day through 2030, healthcare labor demand is on an upward path.”
Summertime Surge in Leisure and Hospitality
With temperatures rising and inflation easing, the leisure and hospitality sector is finally starting to feel the warmth of the sun after months of cloudy economic skies. In May, hiring surged as employers increased headcount by 48,000 in the BLS monthly jobs report, primarily in food services and drinking places. Likewise, hiring within the sector is heating up on Monster with the number of active job listings up 2% over the past month. Top jobs hiring include:
- Cooks
- Combined food prep and serving workers
- First-line supervisors of food prep and serving workers
“The leisure and hospitality sector’s robust growth likely reflects seasonal demand normalization converging with disinflationary consumer spending patterns,” Santangelo says. “Traditional summer hiring acceleration (typically 15-20%) appears amplified by delayed seasonal adjustment from previous disruptions, creating compressed hiring that is concentrating typical Q2-Q3 hiring into a concentrated burst. We also have to take into consideration that the pent-up experiential demand from behavioral shifts held over from the COVID year continues to drive structural employment growth beyond pure seasonal effects with dining and hospitality services experiencing demand persistence that extends traditional seasonal hiring.”
Social Media’s Impact on Teen Employment
Social media is coming for the emerging workforce this summer. With school out of session, we typically see a boost in teen employment this time of year. However, the BLS monthly jobs report showed the opposite with the teen labor participation rate down 0.7% over the past month or 1.9% over the past year.
So, where are all the young workers? Research shows that many are ditching traditional jobs like scooping ice cream or lifeguarding at the community pool in favor of creating content on TikTok or livestreaming on Twitch. In fact, about 42% of American teenagers are earning money through digital channels, compared to 38% in traditional jobs.
Santangelo says this unprecedented divergence from historical summer employment patterns represents a major structural transformation. To fill employment gaps not only for this season but in the long term as well, employers may need to recalibrate recruitment demographics and compensation frameworks, targeting older generations and increasing labor costs.
Another Month of Pink Slips
The BLS monthly jobs report showed that the federal government continued to shed jobs (-22,000) in May, bringing the total to 59,000 for the year as part of President Donald Trump’s efficiency efforts. However, a deeper dive shows that DOGE impact, along with tariffs, funding cuts, consumer spending, and overall economic pessimism, are driving further job cuts across the board. According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, U.S. employers announced nearly 94,000 job cuts in May — a 47% increase year-over-year — with services, non-profits, tech, and retail leading the way in pink slips.
“Federal workforce reductions are creating substantial spillover effects into contractor-dependent industries,” Santangelo says. “While only 10,459 cuts have been explicitly attributed to downstream DOGE impacts, the service sector, which includes commercial cleaning and temporary staffing, heavily reliant on government contracts, has experienced its highest monthly job losses since May 2020 with 22,492 cuts announced.” Additionally, non-profit organizations, many receiving up to two-thirds of their funding from federal sources, have seen layoffs surge 504% year-over-year as government spending contracts flow through the broader economy.
Regarding tariffs, Santangelo says, “While only 2,097 cuts have been explicitly blamed on tariffs, retail sector layoffs have surged 274% as companies grapple with import dependencies with 99% of U.S. footwear and appear imported primarily from Asia. Federal Reserve research confirms that tariff costs are being passed through to consumers at rates approaching 100%, forcing retailers to choose between margin compression with demand destruction.”
With May’s layoffs, employers have announced almost 700,000 job cuts in the first five months of the year, an 80% increase from the same period last year and just 65,000 shy of all total layoffs in 2024. As more layoffs and even business shutdowns are expected, many workers are bracing for impact and staying put in their roles, even ones they’ve outgrown, which will likely pose challenges for employers hiring this summer.
Wage Pressure and Recruitment Difficulties Ahead
Don’t let steady job growth and a stable unemployment rate fool you — while the BLS monthly jobs report showed that the unemployment rate held at 4.2% for the third month in a row, the employment-population ratio and the labor force participation rate both declined by 0.3% and 0.2% respectively.
“The simultaneous occurrence of ‘stable’ unemployment along with declining employment-population ratio and labor force participation signals more labor market marginalization rather than strength,” Santangelo says. “This divergence indicates that individuals are exiting the labor force entirely rather than remaining unemployed, suggesting either the ‘discouraged worker’ effect or structural shifts in work preferences. For employers, this represents a further tightening labor supply despite reports of stable unemployment.”
As the pool of immediately available workers shrinks, wage gains and recruitment difficulties are often not far behind — both of which we’re beginning to see unfold in today’s economy with job openings outnumbering available workers and wage growth outpacing inflation. This summer, Santangelo says employers should prepare for continued wage pressure and focus on retention through flexible work arrangements, career development, and competitive benefits packages.
Stay Tuned for the Next Monthly Jobs Report
Monster aims to provide employers with the insight needed to move forward. As you plan your hiring strategy over the next month, check out Monster’s 2025 Work Watch report for the latest hiring trends and insights. We’ll see you here again in July when we will release our next take on the monthly jobs report.