The U.S. labor market strengthened in May as employers added 172,000 jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

The monthly increase in total nonfarm payrolls far outpaced the 85,000 mark economists had penciled in, and came in only slightly below April’s upwardly revised 179,000.

The unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%, matching both the expected and previous 4.3%.

Average hourly earnings 0.3% on the month, matching expectations, and were up 3.4% from a year earlier.

The hotter-than-expected jobs data arrives after a series of hot inflation readings and less than two weeks before the Federal Reserve’s June 16-17 meeting, the first chaired by Kevin Warsh since he succeeded Jerome Powell in May.

This is a developing story…

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