US private payrolls rise less than expected in May

(Reuters) – U.S. private payrolls increased less than expected in May while data for the prior month was revised lower, a report showed on Wednesday.

Private payrolls increased by 152,000 jobs last month after rising by a downwardly revised 188,000 in April, the ADP Employment report showed. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast private employment increasing by 175,000 last month.

The report was the latest indication that employment is not buckling under the weight of 525 basis points of interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve since March 2022, although other data has shown the job market is coming into better balance.

On Tuesday, the Labor Department reported job openings fell in April to the fewest in more than three years and the ratio of vacancies to the number of unemployed persons had returned to levels seen prior to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in early 2020.

The ADP report, jointly developed with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, also precedes Friday’s more comprehensive and closely watched nonfarm payrolls report for May from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Economists polled by Reuters expect the BLS data to show 170,000 private-sector jobs were created last month, little changed from April’s 167,000, while total payroll growth is estimated at 185,000 versus 175,000 in April. The unemployment rate is forecast unchanged at 3.9% and annual wage increases holding steady at 3.9%.