New York (CNN Business) The US economy added only 75,000 jobs in May, a surprisingly low number that was well below what experts had predicted.

The unemployment rate remained at 3.6%, however, meaning that joblessness is still hovering near a half-century low.

The report supports suspicions that the labor market is finally slowing down from its blistering pace in 2018, with revisions to the past two months subtracting 75,000 jobs. Employers have added 164,000 jobs per month on average in 2019, compared with 223,000 jobs per month last year.

"That could be a sign of going through some kind of transition here," said Josh Wright, chief economist at the recruiting software company iCIMS. "We're dancing on the edge of the wall, and there's only so long you can dancer before you tip over."

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