Gains spanned both employer size and region, and nine of the 10 industries ADP monitors showed growth
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Private sector employers added 122,000 jobs in May, the strongest monthly total since January 2025, the payroll company ADP said Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had projected a gain of 110,000, according to CNBC. April's total was revised down to 105,000 from an initially reported 109,000.
Gains spanned both employer size and region, and nine of the 10 industries ADP monitors — eight posted net positive results — participated in the growth. The 57,000 positions added in education and health services made that sector the top contributor, with trade, transportation, and utilities responsible for the next-largest share at 36,000. Professional and business services added 11,000, while construction and leisure and hospitality each contributed 8,000. On the negative side, natural resources and mining trimmed 3,000 positions, and information services contracted by 9,000.
Broken down by company size, the 67,000 jobs added at firms employing fewer than 50 people outpaced both the 40,000 gained at companies with 500 or more workers and the 17,000 at mid-size employers.
"Hiring was more broad-based in May than we've seen in the last few years," ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said in a statement. "The labor market continues to show sustained momentum going into the summer hiring season."
Pay data showed job-stayers' annual wages grew 4.4%, unchanged from the prior month's pace, while employees who changed employers saw a 6.5% year-over-year increase — down slightly from April's 6.6%.
To compile the report, ADP draws on payroll records from upward of 26 million private-sector workers nationwide; the effort is a joint project with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab. It arrives two days before the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its monthly nonfarm payrolls report, which also captures public-sector hiring and can differ from ADP's figures. Wall Street is expecting the government report to show an increase of roughly 85,000 jobs, according to Bloomberg.
With the Fed's next policy gathering scheduled for June 16-17, traders have all but fully priced in an unchanged rate, leaving the benchmark in its current 3.5%-to-3.75% target range.
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