Workspan Daily News Bytes for June 6, 2025

U.S. Added 139,00 Jobs in May; Unemployment Rate Unchanged

According to the latest employment data released by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday, June 6, the U.S. added 139,000 jobs in May, more than what economists expected. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.2%.

In May, employment continued to rise in healthcare, leisure and hospitality, and social assistance. Healthcare added 62,000 jobs, higher than the average monthly gain of 44,000 over the prior 12 months. Job gains occurred in hospitals, ambulatory healthcare services and skilled nursing care facilities. Employment in leisure and hospitality saw gains, largely in food services and drinking places. Over the prior 12 months, leisure and hospitality had added an average of 20,000 jobs per month. Social assistance saw continued growth in individual and family services with 16,000 added jobs. Meanwhile, federal government employment continued to decline in May and is down by 59,000 since January.

In May, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 15 cents, or 0.4%, to $36.24. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.9%. Average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 12 cents, or 0.4%, to $31.18.

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was 34.3 hours for the third month in a row. In manufacturing, the average workweek was little changed at 40.1 hours, and overtime was unchanged at 2.9 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls remained at 33.7 hours.

Report: CEO Pay Jumped Nearly 10% Last Year

According to the results of the Associated Press’ most recent CEO Compensation Survey, published on May 29, CEO pay rose nearly 10% in 2024.

“2024 was expected to be a strong year, so the (nearly) 10% increases are commensurate with the timing of the pay decisions,” said Dan Laddin, a partner at Compensation Advisory Partners, told the Associated Press.

The survey results, which used data analyzed by Equilar, included pay data for 344 executives at S&P 500 companies who have served at least two full consecutive fiscal years at their companies, which filed proxy statements between Jan. 1 and April 30.

The survey’s key findings included:

The median pay package for CEOs rose to $17.1 million, up 9.7%. Meanwhile, the median employee at companies in the survey earned $85,419, reflecting a 1.7% increase year over year.
The stock market’s main benchmark, the S&P 500, rose more than 23% last year. Profits for companies in the index rose more than 9%.
The median stock award rose almost 15% last year compared to a 4% increase in base salaries.
For the 27 women who made the Associated Press survey — the highest number dating back to 2014 — median pay rose 10.7% to $20 million. That compares to a 9.7% increase to $16.8 million for their male counterparts.

Average 401(k) Balances Hit Record Savings Rates

Retirement account balances fell in the first quarter of 2025 amid steep stock market volatility, according to a new report by Fidelity Investments, the nation’s largest provider of 401(k) plans.

As reported by CNBC, the average 401(k) balance fell 3% in the first quarter of 2025 to $127,100. The average individual retirement account balance also sank 4% from the previous quarter to $121,983.

Still, both 401(k) and IRA balances were up year over year.

The total 401(k) savings rate increased to a record 14.3%, only slightly less than the 15% plan advisors have encouraged for years, reported The National Association of Plan Advisors. The total 403(b) savings rate held steady at 11.8%.

Fidelity noted the record high-savings rate record was driven by a “milestone employee contribution rate of 9.5%, and an employer contribution rate of 4.8% — the highest level to date.”

Additionally, the firm noted:

The “percentage of workers contributing to a Roth 401(k) increased to 16.8% in the first quarter (up from 15.2% one year ago), while the percentage of individuals initiating a new 401(k) loan dropped slightly from one year ago (2.3% vs. 2.4%).”
IRA contributions also increased 4.5% from a year ago ($3,231 vs. $3,093) despite a slight drop in the average account balance. The average contributions for Baby Boomers increased by 21% from the first quarter of 2024 ($5,272 vs. $4,348).

Global Engagement Still on the Decline

Global employee engagement dropped for just the second time since 2009, according to Gallup’s latest State of the Global Workplace report.

The report found the global percentage of engaged employees fell from 23% to 21% in 2024. The only other time in the report’s 15-year history that a decline occurred was in 2020.

Manager engagement fell from 30% to 27%, while individual contributor engagement remained flat at 18%. Engagement among managers under the age of 35 fell by 5 percentage points; female manager engagement dropped by 7 points.

In another tracked metric, global employee well-being declined 1 percentage point to 33% in 2024 after seeing a similar decline in 2023. Managers experienced the largest decrease in the percentage who rate their lives positively enough to be considered thriving, while individual contributors saw their life evaluations improve slightly.

According to Gallup, the lack of global employee engagement is costing the world economy an estimated $438 billion in lost productivity. If the global workforce was fully engaged, Gallup estimates $9.6 trillion in productivity would be added to the economy.

Survey Finds Workers Not Prioritizing Rest During Vacations

In a recent survey conducted by Dayforce, a global human capital management company, 79% of full-time employees said they feel at least some pressure from their employer or manager to maintain the same level of productivity in the summer as the rest of the year. The survey featured responses from 2,005 full-time employees in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom.

Other key findings, based on participant feedback, included:

47% said they tend to log off or leave work earlier during the summer.
45% said they often extend lunches to take advantage of the warm weather.
40% said they sometimes call in sick when they’re not really sick to take an extra-long weekend or attend social events.
34% said they sometimes use company messaging apps to make it look like they’re working, even when they’re not.
34% said they sometimes or often leave work early on a Friday without telling their manager.

Still, Dayforce’s research found the number of employees who said they disconnect from work completely while on vacation declined again, from 47% in 2023, to 39% in 2024, to just 37% this year.

The survey also showed:

19% of surveyed employees said they don’t even try to hide it — their travel companions know they’ll be working on vacation and are never far from their work phone.
16% said they’ve missed out on time with family or friends because they needed to work while on vacation.
15% said they’ve worked secretly while on vacation without anyone noticing.
11% said they’ve pretended they were sick while on vacation so they could work instead.

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