The unemployment rate rose for all racial groups except for white Americans in May. The uptick in jobless rates was more pronounced for Black men than women. Black men saw their unemployment rate jump to 6.4% from 5.2%. The number of eligible adults looking for jobs fell for white and Black workers, rose for Asian Americans and held steady for Hispanic workers. A representative speaks with a jobseeker at a job fair at Brunswick Community College in Bolivia, North Carolina, on April 11, 2024. Allison Joyce | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The unemployment rate for white Americans held steady from April to May, bucking the trend for all other racial groups, according to data released Friday by the Labor Department.

White unemployment remained at 3.5% last month, making the demographic group the only one that didn’t experience a rise in jobless rates from April to May. It also went against the overall unemployment rate, which edged higher to 4% from 3.9%.

Meanwhile, the jobless rate for Black Americans rose to 6.1% from 5.6%. For Asian and Hispanic workers, respectively, it rose to 3.1% from 2.8%, and to 5% from 4.8%.

“We obviously need to watch out for what’s happening with historically marginalized groups to make sure that the recovery gets experienced,” said Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute.

But Gould isn’t particularly worried about the uptick in jobless rates for certain demographics just yet. “We’re not seeing any real divergence from trends there,” she added.

Gould noted that the trend was slightly stronger for Black men, who saw their unemployment rate jump to 6.4% from 5.2%, versus an increase to 5.2% from 5% for their female counterparts. The economist attributed this increase to labor force volatility and pointed out that the number has pretty much risen back to its previous levels from earlier this year.

Among white workers, the labor force participation rate crept lower, to 62.2% from 62.3%.

The overall labor force participation rate also fell to 62.5% from 62.7% and decreased to 62.9% from 63.2% for Black Americans. However, the metric rose to 65.3% from 64.7% for Asian Americans, while it held steady at 67.3% for Hispanic workers.

— CNBC’s Gabriel Cortes contributed to this report.

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The U.S. economy added 272,000 jobs for the month, coming out significantly higher than the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 190,000. Employment swung higher in several industries, with health care leading the way again this month, followed by government and hospitality. These sectors also accounted for more than half of the month’s total gains. Meanwhile, job losses occurred in department stores and furniture and home furnishings retailers.

Job growth in May was surprisingly strong, pushing back on lingering fears of a broader economic slowdown and likely slowing the Federal Reserve’s rate-cutting timeline.

The U.S. economy added 272,000 jobs for the month, coming out significantly higher than the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 190,000. That’s also higher than the average monthly gain of 232,000 over the last 12 months, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In May, employment swung higher in several industries, with health care leading the way again this month, followed by government and hospitality. The three sectors, respectively, added 68,000, 43,000 and 42,000 jobs, similar to trends seen over the past year. These sectors also accounted for more than half of the month’s total gains. The combined health-care and social assistance space netted more than 83,000 jobs in May.

The professional, scientific and technical services sector was also a bright spot in May, as it added 32,000 jobs during the month, which is much higher than the average monthly gain of 19,000 over the past 12 months.

On the other hand, social assistance employment trended higher as it added 15,000 last month, below the sector’s average of 22,000 jobs per month seen over the last year. Meanwhile, job losses occurred in department stores and furniture and home furnishings retailers.

Other major industries — including oil and gas extraction, construction, manufacturing, information and financial activities — all saw little or no change over the month in employment, per the report.

Investors walked away from the report discouraged that the Federal Reserve would cut rates in June, noting that the increase in job growth and above-average wage growth paints a picture of a fairly strong consumer.

“As has been the case recently, job growth was driven by non-cyclical areas like health care and government, but cyclical areas like leisure and hospitality were strong…this is likely

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Nonfarm payrolls expanded by 272,000 for the month, up from 165,000 in April and well ahead of the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 190,000. The unemployment rate rose to 4%, the first time it has breached that level since January 2022. Job gains were concentrated in health care, government, and leisure and hospitality, consistent with recent trends. Average hourly earnings were higher than expected as well, rising 0.4% on the month and 4.1% from a year ago.

The U.S. economy added far more jobs than expected in May, countering fears of a slowdown in the labor market and likely reducing the Federal Reserve’s impetus to lower interest rates.

Nonfarm payrolls expanded by 272,000 for the month, up from 165,000 in April and well ahead of the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 190,000, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

At the same time, the unemployment rate rose to 4%, the first time it has breached that level since January 2022. Economists had been expecting the rate to stay unchanged at 3.9% from April.

The increase came even though the labor force participation rate decreased to 62.5%, down 0.2 percentage point. The survey of households used to compute the unemployment rate showed that the level of people who reported holding jobs fell by 408,000.

“On the surface, [the report] was hot, but you’ve also got a bigger drop in household employment,” said Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab. “For what it’s worth, that tends to be a more accurate signal when you’re at an inflection point in the economy. You can find weakness in the underlying numbers.”

A more encompassing unemployment figure that includes discouraged workers and those holding part-time jobs for economic reasons held steady at 7.4%.

The household survey also showed that full-time workers declined by 625,000, while those holding part-time positions increased by 286,000.

Job gains were concentrated in health care, government, and leisure and hospitality, consistent with recent trends. The three sectors respectively added 68,000, 43,000 and 42,000 positions. The three sectors accounted for more than half the gains.

A Now Hiring sign hangs near the entrance to the PetSmart store on December 03, 2021 in Miami, Florida. Joe Raedle | Getty Images

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Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Putin said countries “friendly to Russia” were the ones that deserved special attention. He added that Russia would seek to boost the share of settlements conducted in the currencies of BRICS countries, referring to an economic coalition of emerging markets which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Putin said payments for Russian exports in “so-called ‘toxic’ currencies of non-friendly states” had halved over the last year. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin gestures as he delivers a speech during the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg on June 7, 2024. Anton Vaganov | Afp | Getty Images

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that nearly 40% of the country’s trade turnover is now in rubles as the share conducted in dollars, euros and other “non-friendly” Western currencies has fallen away.

Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Putin said countries “friendly to Russia” were the ones that deserved special attention as they will define the future of the global economy, “and they already make up three-quarters of our trade volume.”

He added that Russia would seek to boost the share of settlements conducted in the currencies of BRICS countries, referring to an economic coalition of emerging markets which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Putin said payments for Russian exports in “so-called ‘toxic’ currencies of non-friendly states” had halved over the last year.

“With that, the share of the ruble in import and export operations is increasing, now standing at almost 40%,” Putin said, according to a translation.

Russia’s president detailed plans for a major overhaul of the country’s domestic financial market, including plans to double the value of the Russian stock market by the end of the decade, reduce imports and boost investment in fixed assets.

His comments come as the Kremlin leverages SPIEF to court new relationships with countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa.

The West has sought to cut off Russia’s $2 trillion economy in response to Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Yet Russia’s economy is expected to grow faster than all advanced economies this year, despite several rounds of international sanctions.

In its World Economic Outlook in April, the International Monetary Fund said it expected Russia to grow 3.2% in 2024,

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Russia’s annual economic forum in St. Petersburg used to be known as the country’s “Davos” in a nod to the World Economic Forum that’s held in Switzerland every year. War in Ukraine has changed the dial in global geopolitical and trade relations, however. The days of scores of Western business leaders and heads of state attending the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum are long gone. Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen while visiting the Lakhta Center on June 5, 2024, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Vladimir Putin visited a newly built Lakhta Center, a skyscraper of Gazprom, prior to his meetings at the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum SPIEF 2024. Contributor | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Russia’s annual economic forum in St. Petersburg used to be known as the country’s “Davos” in a nod to the World Economic Forum that’s held in Switzerland every year.

War in Ukraine has changed the dial in global geopolitical and trade relations, however. The days when scores of Western business leaders and heads of state attended the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, an event that enables Russia to showcase its economy and investment opportunities, are long gone.

Now, Russia is looking to use SPIEF to court new relationships with countries apparently less squeamish about doing business with a country that has invaded its neighbor — namely a number of countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa — and those willing to turn a blind eye to the war for their own economic interests, such as Russia’s oil and gas customers in eastern Europe, Slovakia and Hungary.

SPIEF is the latest effort in the Kremlin’s campaign to try to show that everything is still normal, Max Hess, fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and author of “Economic War: Ukraine and the Global Conflict Between Russia and the West,” told CNBC Thursday.

“They trumpet and highlight international attendees and domestic propaganda, extremely, but except for a few of the usual characters like the Hungarian Foreign Minister [Peter Szijjarto], nobody new and notable is showing up and also no new major investments or deals will be agreed at this forum, at least not with major foreign countries,” he said.

A view of the stand of the Russian private bank Alfa-Bank during the 27th St. Petersburg International Economic

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Economists expect the Bureau of Labor Statistics to report Friday that the U.S. economy added 190,000 more jobs in May, up slightly on the month. Average hourly earnings are expected to show a 0.3% increase, slightly higher on the month, putting the 12-month increase at 3.9%. Liu Jie/Xinhua via Getty Images

Investors will be looking to May’s nonfarm payrolls report for more clarity on whether the Federal Reserve can ease up in its battle against inflation.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect the Bureau of Labor Statistics to report that the U.S. economy added 190,000 more jobs on the month, which would be a slight step up from the 175,000 gain in April.

Moreover, markets will be taking a close look at wage numbers, as average hourly earnings are expected to show a 0.3% increase, slightly higher on the month, putting the 12-month increase at 3.9%, or the same pace as the previous month, and an indication that the central bank still has more work to do.

Other employment indicators this week showed a deceleration in private payrolls growth, as ADP reported growth of just 152,000, and a slight uptick in the pace of initial filings for unemployment benefits.

“The jobs report for May is now particularly consequential,” Citigroup economist Andrew Hollenhorst said in a note. “A weaker reading [of less than 175,000 jobs and an unemployment rate of 4% or more] would be a final piece of evidence that the slowdown will continue. On the other hand, an unexpected strengthening would reinforce the idea that there is no urgency to cut rates and send Treasury yields higher again.”

Citi expects that the report will show just 140,000 jobs, with the unemployment rate hitting 4% for the first time since January 2022.

If that is the case, it could give the Fed impetus to cut interest rates sooner than expected.

Markets currently are pegging the first rate cut to come in September, with one more on the way in December. Citi is below consensus on its jobs outlook and by far has the most out-of-consensus Wall Street view on rate reductions, with an expectation the Fed will start in July and keep going with four reductions by the end of the year.

However, Goldman Sachs also expects a below-consensus 160,000 gain in payrolls as it sees

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Worries are growing that the labor market is beginning to show cracks, particularly for younger aspirants. The monthly rate of workers with little previous work experience getting jobs has plunged, falling to 13% from its previous peak of 20%, according to Goldman Sachs. “Quite honestly, it was pretty brutal,” one job seeker said. “It felt like a lot of work for little response, little reward.” The hiring rate for all workers is at 3.6% of those counted in the labor force, just off the low of the post-Covid era, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Prior to the pandemic, the hiring rate was last below the current level in August 2014. Samantha McCloud, 16, left, Victoria Garcia, 16, Jessel Rincon, 16, at college and career fair at Temple City High School on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023 in Temple City, CA. Irfan Khan | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images

After receiving a graduate degree, Julianna Larock was bombarded with news about the powerful labor market and how much demand there was for skilled workers.

But that wasn’t her reality.

Instead, she spent untold hours browsing through networking sites such as LinkedIn, attending mixers and other professional events, and generally scouring the collective workplace for something that would fit her desire to land a job in the world of finance. All to no avail.

“Quite honestly, it was pretty brutal,” says Larock, 25, a Wilmington, Delaware, native now living in New York City. “It felt like a lot of work for little response, little reward.”

Fortunately, after slogging through a year of dashed hopes, interspersed with some contract work to get her through, Larock found full-time employment as an executive assistant and research associate for Acumen, a nonprofit impact investment firm in New York. The firm was founded by Jacqueline Novogratz, sister of prominent investor Michael Novogratz, the CEO of crypto-focused Galaxy Investment Partners.

Julianna LaRock Courtesy: Julianna LaRock

While Larock is content with her current station, getting there was rough and the future feels uncertain.

“The depression and the anxiety that was coming from the job search oftentimes bubbled over into a lot of my other social relationships,” the University of Delaware and Fordham graduate says. “People can only be so supportive, and you just felt like

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ADP reported that companies added 152,000 jobs in May, fewer than the downwardly revised 188,000 in April and below the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 175,000. Nearly all the hiring came from the services sector, with goods producers contributing just a net 3,000 to the total. Trade, transportation and utilities led with 55,000 new jobs, while education and health services added 46,000, and construction contributed 32,000.

Private job creation slowed more than expected in May, according to a report Wednesday from ADP that signals further sluggishness in the labor market.

The payroll processing firm said that companies added 152,000 jobs on the month, fewer than the downwardly revised 188,000 in April and below the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 175,000. This was the lowest monthly level since January.

Along with the slowdown in job creation, annual pay growth gains held at a 5% rate, where they have been for three months running.

“Job gains and pay growth are slowing going into the second half of the year,” ADP’s chief economist, Nela Richardson, said. “The labor market is solid, but we’re monitoring notable pockets of weakness tied to both producers and consumers.”

A bartender prepares drinks in Le Central restaurant in San Francisco, California, US, on Tuesday, May 7, 2024.  David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Nearly all the hiring came from the services sector, with goods producers contributing just a net 3,000 to the total.

Trade, transportation and utilities led with 55,000 new jobs, while education and health services added 46,000, and construction contributed 32,000. The other services category added 21,000, but leisure and hospitality, a leading contributor over the past several years, saw a gain of just 12,000.

A number of sectors saw job losses on the month.

Manufacturing, which has been in contraction for most of the past year and a half, lost 20,000 jobs. Others seeing decreases included natural resources and mining (-9,000), information (-7,000), and professional and business services (-6,000). Small business also saw a decline, with companies employing between 20 and 49 workers down 36,000.

The report comes two days ahead of the more closely watched nonfarm payrolls count from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. ADP sometimes can provide a preview of what’s ahead in the BLS

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The sprawling shopping complex is already home to 1,200 stores and 200 food and beverage outlets, a 10-million-liter aquarium, an Olympic-sized ice skating rink, an indoor Chinatown, a virtual reality park, an indoor SEGA theme park, and one of the world’s largest candy stores.  The mall’s developer, Emaar Properties this week announced the building’s expansion plan, which will add 240 new luxury stores and food and drink venues. A view of the street near the Dubai Mall in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on November 29, 2023. Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The Dubai Mall, one of the largest malls in the world, is set to get even bigger with a planned expansion that will cost an estimated 1.5 billion dirhams ($408 million).

The sprawling, glitzy shopping complex in the United Arab Emirates’ commercial capital is already home to 1,200 stores and 200 food and beverage vendors, a 10-million-liter (2.2-million-gallons) aquarium, an Olympic-sized ice skating rink, an indoor Chinatown, a virtual reality park, an indoor SEGA theme park, and one of the world’s largest candy stores. 

Spanning 12 million square feet of floor space, the mall is also connected to the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper.

The mall’s developer, Emaar Properties this week announced the building’s expansion plan, which will add 240 new luxury stores and food and drink venues.

“The new Dubai Mall expansion is a great addition to one of the most visited sites in the world,” Mohamed Alabbar, Emaar founder, said in a statement. He declared that the plan reflects Dubai’s ambition to further its position “as a top global destination.”

Dubai’s fortunes have soared since the Covid-19 pandemic, as the city carried out an early vaccination campaign and then opened its doors to tourism and business, while much of the rest of the world stayed shut.

The UAE introduced remote worker visas and 10-year “golden” visas and relaxed foreign ownership laws for businesses, hosting major international events like Expo 2020 and COP 28. Its population jumped — as well as its tourism and property revenues — after Russia’s 2022 full-fledged invasion of Ukraine, which triggered an inflow of Russians to its balmy, sanctions-free shores.

The record-breaking Dubai Mall is also home to the world’s largest shopping mall aquarium, where visitors can

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