The recovery of the US labor market accelerates: 559,000 jobs were added in May

(CNN) – The recovery of the US labor market accelerated in May, with 559,000 jobs added back to the economy.

It was a second sizable loss to analyst expectations after a major disappointment in April. Economists had forecast 650,000 jobs added in May.

The unemployment rate fell to 5.8%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday.

Still, it was a huge improvement over the 278,000 revised jobs that were added in April. The initial reading of 266,000 jobs last month was the biggest loss to expectations since Refinitiv began recording that data in 1999.

The labor market is in a strange situation, which shows how uneven and uncomfortable the recovery is.

Although millions of people remain unemployed or have had to leave the workforce, companies complain about a shortage of workers. Companies are raising wages to attract and retain employees.