The Blubber

Demand remains strong for in-person roles—particularly in health services and food-related industries—while office-based positions are seeing much slower growth.

According to the May jobs report released Friday morning, the U.S. economy added 139,000 new jobs in May. When combined with revised job gains from March and April, the total net increase comes to 406,000 jobs since February.

But the majority of those gains have been concentrated in just two sectors: healthcare and hospitality. Over the past three months, employment in private education and health services rose by 252,000 jobs, with notable hiring at hospitals and family support services. Meanwhile, the leisure and hospitality sector saw an increase of 122,000 jobs—largely driven by food services and establishments like restaurants and bars.

Taken together, these two sectors account for a staggering 92% of all job growth between February and May.

“There are definitely still jobs out there, particularly if you're looking for in-person roles like those in healthcare,” said Cory Stahle, an economist with the Indeed Hiring Lab, in an interview with Business Insider. “But there’s clearly less momentum in white-collar fields.”

Office-based sectors showed mixed results: jobs in financial services have grown modestly over the last three months, but professional and business services have seen a decline. The overall job gains in white-collar areas pale in comparison to the hiring surge in sectors like healthcare and hospitality.

“This is a clear continuation of a broader trend we've observed over the past couple of years,” Stahle added. “There's a growing divide in where the job opportunities are—and that’s creating very different experiences for job seekers depending on their field.”