The last time the headline US unemployment rate jumped by half a percentage point – February 1986 – was in the midst of an economic boom. So it is worth digging into last month’s increase to 5.5 per cent.

The actual decline in non-farm payrolls in May – 49,000 – was roughly as expected. However, a jump of more than half a million in the size of the workforce ensured an eye-catching increase in the unemployment rate. Most of these were young people entering the jobs market for the first time, as is usual at this time of year.