ADP Reports May Private Payrolls Growth Slows to 152,000, Below Expectations

Services Sector Leads Hiring

The majority of job gains came from the services sector, contributing a substantial portion of the total new jobs:

Trade, Transportation, and Utilities: +55,000 jobs
Education and Health Services: +46,000 jobs
Construction: +32,000 jobs

In contrast, the goods-producing sector contributed only 3,000 new jobs.

Notable Job Losses in Key Sectors

Several sectors experienced job losses in May, underscoring weaknesses in specific areas of the economy:

Manufacturing: -20,000 jobs
Natural Resources and Mining: -9,000 jobs
Information: -7,000 jobs
Professional and Business Services: -6,000 jobs

Additionally, small businesses with 20 to 49 employees saw a decline of 36,000 jobs.

Slower Wage Growth

Annual pay growth remained steady at a 5% rate for the third consecutive month, reflecting a deceleration in wage gains alongside job creation. ADP’s chief economist, Nela Richardson, noted the labor market’s overall solidity but highlighted notable pockets of weakness impacting both producers and consumers.

Implications for Upcoming BLS Report

The ADP report precedes the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) nonfarm payrolls count, which is highly anticipated by Wall Street economists. The BLS is expected to report a growth of 190,000 nonfarm payrolls in May, up from 175,000 in April. However, recent indicators, including a decline in job openings to just over 8 million in April—the lowest since February 2021—suggest a broader slowdown in hiring.