Companies in the private sector added just 37,000 jobs in May, payroll processing firm ADP said Wednesday.
The figure is well below economists’ estimates of 110,000 jobs and down from the prior month’s revised reading of 60,000. It was the lowest since March 2023.
“After a strong start to the year, hiring is losing momentum,” said Nela Richardson, ADP chief economist. “Pay growth, however, was little changed in May, holding at robust levels for both job-stayers and job-changers.”
PRIVATE SECTOR ADDED 62K JOBS IN APRIL, WELL BELOW EXPECTATIONS, ADP SAYS
Leisure and hospitality added 38,000 positions, leading job creation in May. Financial activities added 20,000 jobs, information added 8,000, construction contributed 6,000 and other services added 4,000.
On the negative side, professional and business services lost 17,000 jobs during the month, while education and health services lost 13,000 positions. Natural resources and mining lost 5,000 jobs, trade, transportation and utilities lost 4,000, and manufacturing decreased by 3,000.
Large businesses — those with 500 or more employees — lost 3,000 jobs in the month. Businesses with 50 to 499 employees hired 49,000 workers. Establishments with fewer than 50 employees added 13,000 jobs.
President Donald Trump reacted to the data in a post on Truth Social, calling on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to lower interest rates.
“ADP NUMBER OUT!!! ‘Too Late’ Powell must now LOWER THE RATE. He is unbelievable!!! Europe has lowered NINE TIMES!” Trump said.
FED SAW INFLATION, JOBLESS, STABILITY RISKS AT MAY MEETING, MINUTES SHOW
The president most recently criticized Powell in mid-May, suggesting that the Fed chair is behind the curve in lowering interest rates compared with America’s peers.
Trump and Powell met on Thursday at the White House for the first time in the president’s second term, though the two did not discuss monetary policy.
“Chair Powell did not discuss his expectations for monetary policy, except to stress that the path of policy will depend entirely on incoming economic information and what that means for the outlook,” the central bank said in a statement.
The ADP data is released before the Labor Department’s nonfarm payrolls report, which is due on Friday morning and can differ notably. The government data is expected to show an increase of 130,000 positions, below the 177,000 reported in April.
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