The economy added 138,000 jobs in May, the Labor Department reported Friday,down from 174,000 in April.
Unemployment was 4.3 percent, and average hourly private -sector earnings were up 2.5 percent over the previous year.
Analysts had predicted the creation of 185,000 jobs, an unemployment rate of 4.4 percent, and an increase in over-the-year hourly earnings of 2.6 percent.
