Consumer prices rose 4.2% in May from a year earlier, up from 3.8% in April and the third straight increase.
Local governments added 55,000 workers, restaurants and bars 48,000, healthcare companies 35,000.
The average rate remains below 6.85%, where it was a year ago.
Weekly jobless aid applications have stabilized in a range mostly between 200,000 and 250,000 since the economy emerged from the pandemic.
U.S. employers posted 7.6 million job vacancies in April, up from 6.9 million in March and most since May 2024.
The index follows a separate gauge of consumer sentiment released last week by the University of Michigan, which fell to a record low this month.
The snapshot offers only a partial look at consumer spending and doesn’t include things like travel and hotel stays.
U.S. consumer prices climbed a sharply again last month as the 10-week war with Iran pushed energy prices higher.
Hiring was better than the 65,000 forecasters had expected, though it decelerated from the 185,000 jobs created in March.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed that layoffs rose in March. But hiring improved, and more people quit their jobs.
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