WASHINGTON – WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. unemployment rate fell unexpectedly in May to 13.3% — still on par with what the nation witnessed during the Great Depression — as states loosened their coronavirus lockdowns and businesses began recalling workers.
The government said Friday that the economy added 2.5 million jobs last month, driving unemployment down from 14.7% in April.
The May job gain, which confounded economists' expectations of another round of severe losses, suggests that thousands of stores, restaurants, gyms and other companies reopened and rehired more quickly than many analysts had forecast.