Employers added 157,000 jobs in May

WASHINGTON - Employers showed a decent appetite to hire in May, boosting payrolls by 157,000, the most in two months. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.5 percent.

The newest report on the nation’s overall employment climate, released Friday by the Labor Department, suggested that the sluggish spell the economy has been experiencing hasn’t severly crimped companies’ need for workers. Those with jobs saw modest wage gains last month.

Health care, education, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and the government were among the sectors adding jobs in May. But weakness persisted in manufacturing, construction and retailing, partly reflecting fallout from a yearlong housing slump.