US economy adds 139,000 jobs as growth slows

The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2 percent as wages ticked up slightly [File: Nam Y Huh/AP]

Employers in the United States have slowed hiring even though they added a solid 139,000 jobs in May.

While that was higher than the forecast of 133,000 jobs, it was lower than the 147,000 hires in April,  Labor Department data released on Friday showed. It also sharply revised downward the data for March and April by 95,000 jobs.