By The Opinion
Hiring at U.S. private companies gained momentum during May and exceeded analyst expectationsa sign that points to the resilience of the labor market despite economic uncertainty. The new data also comes at a key time, as the Federal Reserve and investors await the next official jobs reports to assess the direction of the economy.
The payroll processing firm ADP reported this Wednesday that the private sector added 122,000 jobs during May. The result was above the 105,000 jobs recorded in April and also exceeded the consensus forecast of Dow Jones, which expected 110,000 new hires.
Besides, May represented the best monthly performance for private employment since January 2025. ADP also revised April’s figure slightly downward, reducing it by 4,000 positions.
Unlike previous months, when most of the job creation was concentrated in a few activities, hiring showed a broader distribution among economic sectors. Of the ten sectors monitored by ADP, eight recorded increases in their employment levels. Hiring was also observed in companies of different sizes and in various regions of the country.
“In May, hiring was more widespread than in recent years,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP. “The labor market continues to show sustained dynamism heading into the summer hiring season.”
The education and health sector once again led the generation of employment with 57,000 new positions. It was followed by the segment of commerce, transportation and public services, which incorporated 36,000 workers. For its part, professional and business services added 11,000 jobs. Construction and the leisure and hospitality sector added 8,000 jobs each.
However, some sectors registered setbacks: information services lost 9,000 jobs during the monthwhile natural resources and mining reported a decrease of 3,000 positions.
The data reflect that employment growth was not only concentrated in large corporations, but also had a significant participation of small businesses.
Companies with fewer than 50 employees contributed the most to job creation during May. This group added 67,000 new workers. Large companies, with workforces of 500 or more employees, added 40,000 positions. Meanwhile, medium-sized companies contributed 17,000 hires.
The ADP report also showed that wage growth remained virtually unchanged for workers who remained in their jobs. The annual remuneration of those who kept their jobs increased 4.4%, the same percentage recorded in April. Meanwhile, workers who changed companies obtained salary increases of 6.5%, a figure slightly lower than that observed the previous month.
The ADP report is published just two days before the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases official employment figures for May. In that sense, Wall Aspect toll road forecasts point to the creation of 80,000 jobsafter the 115,000 reported in April. The unemployment rate is also expected to remain at 4.3%.
The next data will be closely followed by the Federal Reserve (Fed)whose officials will hold a monetary policy meeting on June 16 and 17 under new leadership, Kevin Warsh. For now, markets consider it likely that the central bank will keep its reference interest rate unchanged.
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