US stocks rallied on Friday after stronger-than-expected labor market data helped ease fears of an imminent economic slowdown.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 373 points, or 0.9%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.9%, briefly touching the 6,000 level for the first time since late February.
The Nasdaq Composite outperformed with a 1.2% rise, supported by broad-based gains in tech shares.
The May nonfarm payrolls report showed the US economy added 139,000 jobs, surpassing the Dow Jones estimate of 125,000.
While the figure was lower than April’s downwardly revised 147,000, it was seen as a sign of resilience amid recent concerns over a cooling labor market.
The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%.
Markets had been on edge earlier in the week after a string of data releases pointed to softer private sector hiring and rising jobless claims.
The better-than-expected payrolls number on Friday provided some relief, bolstering investor sentiment ahead of the Federal Reserve’s upcoming policy meeting scheduled for June 17–18.
Attention will now turn to how the Fed interprets the latest data, particularly in the context of ongoing trade negotiations and inflation trends.
Slow growth in the job market
The US economy added 139,000 jobs in May, surpassing expectations of 120,000 but still indicating a gradual cooling in the labour market.
According to Friday’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job growth slowed from April’s revised figure of 147,000.
The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.2%, near historic lows, suggesting a still-resilient but decelerating job market.
One of the more notable developments was the continued downsizing of the federal workforce, which lost 22,000 jobs in May alone.
Since January, the sector has shed 59,000 positions, a decline tied to cost-cutting efforts by the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s controversial Department of Government Efficiency initiative.
While overall job creation remained positive, the labor force participation picture weakened.
The employment-to-population ratio fell to 59.7%, its lowest since the height of the pandemic, highlighting underlying softness that could become more pronounced if private sector hiring loses further momentum in the coming months.
Musk-Trump feud is still not over
US President Donald Trump has no intention of speaking with Elon Musk, a senior White House official said Friday, contradicting earlier reports that a call between the two was scheduled for the day.
The reversal comes amid an escalating public feud between the former allies, centered on Trump’s sweeping tax-cut bill and broader policy differences.
The breakdown marks a dramatic shift in the relationship between the president and the world’s richest man, who had once been one of Trump’s most prominent financial backers and policy advisers.
Musk, who played a key role in supporting Trump’s campaign and later led high-profile efforts to reduce federal spending and shrink the government workforce, now finds himself at odds with the administration.
Their dispute exploded into public view on Thursday through a barrage of attacks exchanged on Trump’s Truth Social platform and Musk’s X (formerly Twitter).
The fallout hit Tesla hard: shares of the EV maker plunged 14%, wiping out approximately $150 billion in market value—the steepest single-day drop in the company’s history.
Tesla shares rebounded slightly in pre-market trading Friday, gaining as much as 5% on initial reports of a possible reconciliation call.
The White House’s clarification that no such conversation is planned suggests the rift is far from over, potentially impacting both political and market dynamics in the weeks ahead.
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