Job growth slowed in May as the nation’s unemployment mark ticked upward to 8.2 percent, according to the U.S. Labor Department.

With economists expecting payrolls to jump by 150,000, the monthly numbers placed the growth at 69,000 last month.

Economic analysts have said that just to hold the unemployment rate still requires 125,000 new jobs a month.

The national unemployment rate had dropped from 8.2 percent to 8.1 percent from March to April.