RPLS: The US economy adds 123.7k jobs in May

• Revelio Public Labor Statistics (RPLS) shows the economy added 123.7k jobs in May 2026. This gain was driven by significant job gains in the Public Administration, Health Care and Social Assistance, and Professional and Business Services sectors. Meanwhile, Retail and Leisure and Hospitality showed significant declines again this month.

• Within these sectors, the employers with the largest increases in employment were the US Government and the State of California in Public Administration, and Adventist Health System and HCA Healthcare in Health Care and Social Assistance. On the other hand, Starbucks and Inspire Brands (e.g. Dunkin’) had the largest employment losses in the Leisure and Hospitality sector.

• Labor demand was largely unchanged in May. RPLS active postings ticked down by 0.2% in May compared to April. Decreases in active postings were led by the Information sector, while Leisure and Hospitality saw notable increases.

• Salaries from new job postings ticked down in May, decreasing by 0.4% from April to May. Sectors driving the decline were Retail Trade, and Mining and Oil Extraction.

Employment

Revelio Public Labor Statistics (RPLS) shows the economy added 123.7k jobs in May 2026. This gain was driven by significant job gains in the Public Administration, Health Care and Social Assistance, and Professional and Business Services sectors. Meanwhile, Retail and Leisure and Hospitality showed significant declines again this month, continuing an ongoing downward trend.

Within these sectors, the employers with the largest increases in employment were the US Government and the State of California in Public Administration, and Adventist Health System and HCA Healthcare in Health Care and Social Assistance. On the other hand, Starbucks and Inspire Brands (e.g. Dunkin’) had the largest employment losses in the Leisure and Hospitality sector.

The composition of job growth remains uneven. Public Administration, Health Care, and Professional and Business Services accounted for a large share of employment gains in May, while Retail Trade and Leisure and Hospitality posted substantial losses. This pattern suggests continued strength in knowledge-intensive and professional services alongside persistent weakness in consumer-facing industries.

Layoff notices

We observe a slight decline in the number of employees notified of layoffs as part of WARN layoff notices in May. In general, mass layoffs have been largely stable since the beginning of 2026, with very minor fluctuations every month. The number of employees notified of layoffs declined to ~31k employees in May compared to 34.8k employees in April.

The Transportation and Warehousing sector saw the largest number of employees notified of layoffs in May, followed by the Information sector. The layoffs in the Transportation sector were primarily driven by the permanent shutdown of Spirit Airlines on May 2nd. Even though the WARN act requires companies to file for mass layoffs 60 days in advance of the layoff, there are some exceptions to the law. One of these exceptions is unforeseeable business circumstances, which was the case for Spirit Airlines following the collapse of a last-minute government bailout and the surge in fuel prices. Within the Information sector, Meta stands out as the company driving the mass layoffs after its recent announcement to lay off 10% of the workforce to offset their investments in AI.

Hiring and Attrition

The hiring and attrition rates both ticked down in May. Hiring declined by 0.9 percentage points, while attrition declined by 1.3 percentage points. Because attrition declined by more than hiring, employment continued to grow in May. The sharpest pullback in hiring occurred in Leisure and Hospitality, where it fell 4.0 percentage points month-over-month, while most other sectors also experienced slower hiring. Public Administration was a notable exception, with hiring continuing to edge higher.

The largest declines in attrition were concentrated in Other Services, Leisure and Hospitality, Public Administration, and Transportation and Warehousing, and ealth Care and Social Assistance, Financial Activities, and Professional and Business Services also saw declines. While employers are largely holding on to the workers they have, a lack of opportunities elsewhere is pushing down voluntarily separations as well, leading to the sharp decline in attrition. Information remained an outlier, with attrition ticking up slightly and remaining elevated relative to other sectors.

Job postings

The number of active job postings in the US economy was largely unchanged from April to May, ticking down just 0.2%. Overall, job openings have largely leveled off since the second half of 2025, after several years of declines following the 2022 hiring boom.

Many sectors saw declines month-over-month, with the Information sector leading this group with a 3.6% decrease. On the other hand, Leisure and Hospitality saw a notable increase, with active postings rising 3.7%.

The sectors that saw the biggest declines in terms of total job postings volumes were Education and Health Services, Professional and Business Services, and Information. Retail Trade and Public Administration also saw notable declines. Within these industries, Dollar General saw decreased postings, following declines by fellow discounters Family Dollar and Dollar Tree last month, while the US Government also saw declines amid continued downsizing of Federal employment.

Salaries from new job openings

Salaries from new job postings ticked down in May, decreasing by 0.4% from April to May. Sectors driving the decline were Retail Trade, and Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction. Sally Beauty Holdings and Victoria's Secret were among the companies with the largest month-over-month declines in salaries from new job postings for Retail Trade; as were ExxonMobil and Baker Hughes in the Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction sector. Information as well as Transportation and Warehousing saw increases in salaries from new job postings.

See our full release here.