U.S. job growth picked up in May -- along with worker pay -- and the unemployment rate fell, signaling firms are making some progress filling a record number of openings as the economy powers up.
Payrolls increased by 559,000 last month after a revised 278,000 gain in April, according to a Labor Department report Friday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists was for a 675,000 rise. The jobless rate dropped to 5.8%, while the labor participation rate was little changed.