Here’s what to watch out for in Friday’s jobs report for May

Watching the monthly jobs reports this year has been something of a waiting exercise, with economists and market participants looking for a downturn that never seems to arrive.

That scenario is likely to recur Friday when the Labor Department releases its nonfarm payrolls count for May. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect job growth of 190,000, a slowdown from the 253,000 jobs added in April, below the 2023 monthly average of 284,500 and the lowest monthly gain since December 2020.

But judging by the way these reports have been going, the risk is probably to the upside in a jobs market that…