Businesses added 178K jobs in May, payroll agency says
After two months of weather-related volatility, the skies may have cleared for the labor market in May.
Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that businesses added
178,000 jobs, possibly reflecting at least a modest pickup in hiring in the government’s employment report this week but also the growing impact of worker shortages.
Economists expected ADP to tally
190,000 private-sector job gains, according to a Bloomberg survey. They estimate the Labor Department on Friday will announce that 190,000 jobs were added in the public and private sectors.
“Job growth is strong, but slowing, as businesses are unable to fill a record number of open positions,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, which helps ADP compile the report.
“Finding workers is increasingly becoming businesses’ No. 1 problem.”
The unemployment rate has fallen to a 17-year low of 3.9%. That means there are fewer available workers for each job opening. Monthly job growth averaged a healthy 200,000 to the first four months of the year, according to Labor’s report, but that’s likely to slow.
Industries that are hiring
Professional and business services led the gains with 61,000 new jobs. Leisure and hospitality added 33,000. Construction added 39,000 jobs as the spring homebuilding season picked up steam.
And manufacturers added 14,000 jobs. But trade, transportation and utilities, which includes retail, cut 23,000 jobs.
Small-business hiring picks up
Small businesses added 38,000 jobs; midsize companies, 84,000; and large ones, 56,000. Small businesses have had a harder time attracting workers in the tight labor market as they compete with larger firms that often offer higher pay and more benefits.
What it means
ADP tries to forecast Labor’s privatesector job gains and generally tracks similar broad trends but often varies from it substantially. In April, ADP reported 204,000 employment gains while Labor tallied 168,000.
Weather has a bigger effect on Labor’s report than on ADP’s. As a result, the Labor count on Friday may benefit from a bigger rebound after cold weather suppressed some hiring in April.