The ebbing labour market momentum reported by the Labor Department on Friday was underscored by sharp downward revisions that showed 95,000 fewer jobs were added in March and April than previously estimated over the two month period.
The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2 per cent for the third consecutive month because 625,000 people dropped out of the labour force, suggesting a lack of confidence in the jobs market and offsetting a decline in household employment.
Recent surveys have pointed to consumers becoming less optimistic about their prospects of finding a job in the event of being laid off.
Economists say President Donald Trump's flip-flopping on import tariffs has hampered businesses' ability to plan ahead and hire more workers. Opposition to Trump's tax-cut and spending bill from conservative Republicans in the US Senate and tech billionaire Elon Musk has added another layer of uncertainty for companies.
"The Labour market continues to slow steadily, but the sky is not falling," said Olu Sonola, head of US economic research at Fitch Ratings.
"Given the backdrop of trade policy uncertainties, the Fed will be relieved with this report. The tariff landscape is still very uncertain."
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 139,000 jobs last month after a downwardly revised rise of 147,000 in April, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected the survey of establishments to show 130,000 jobs added after a previously reported rise of 177,000 in April. The payrolls count for March was slashed by 65,000 to 120,000.
The economy needs to create roughly 100,000 jobs per month to keep up with growth in the working-age population. That number could drop as Trump has revoked the temporary legal status of hundreds of thousands of migrants as part of his administration's immigration crackdown.
Much of the job growth this year reflects worker hoarding by businesses, anchoring the labour market and economy through higher wages. Average hourly earnings increased 0.4 per cent after gaining 0.2 per cent in April. In the 12 months through May, wages rose 3.9 per cent, matching April's advance.
US stocks opened higher. The dollar gained against a basket of currencies. US Treasury yields rose.
Employers' reluctance to lay off workers could keep the US central bank on the sidelines until the end of the year. Financial markets expect the Fed will leave its benchmark overnight interest rate unchanged in the 4.25-4.50 per cent range at a policy meeting later this month, before resuming its policy easing in September.
