Figures out Friday showed the U.S. economy continued to add jobs at a solid clip in May, with non-farm payrolls up 223,000 while the unemployment rate was 3.8%.
The closely-watched average from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed a rise of 0.3%, as expected, translating to an annualized rate of 2.7%, up one-10th of a point from April.
In addition to the better-than-expected payrolls for May, March's count was revised up from 135,000 to 155,000 while April ended lower from 164,000 to 159,000, for a net gain of 15,000.
Investors have been looking through the headline job gains to see whether a tight American labour market was pressuring wage growth. The Federal Reserve in particular has been watching for inflationary signs. Central bank officials have indicated that two more interest rate hikes are likely this year on top of the one already approved in March.
