US private payrolls growth slows sharply in May
U.S. private payrolls increased far less than expected in May, the ADP National Employment Report showed on Wednesday.
Private payrolls increased by only 37,000 jobs last month after a downwardly revised 60,000 rise in April.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast private employment increasing 110,000 following a previously reported gain of 62,000 in April.
The ADP report, jointly developed with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, was published ahead of the more comprehensive employment report for May due to be released on Friday by the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics. There is no correlation between the ADP and BLS employment reports.
The labor market continues to ease amid economic uncertainty from tariffs. Government data on Tuesday showed there were 1.03 job openings for every unemployed person in April, little changed from March.
Private payrolls likely increased by 120,000 jobs in May after advancing 167,000 in April, a Reuters survey showed. Overall nonfarm payrolls are estimated to have increased by 130,000 jobs after rising 177,000 in April.
The unemployment rate is forecast to be unchanged at 4.2%.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Tahawul Tech
37 minutes ago
- Tahawul Tech
Nintendo Switch 2 Archives
"We're entering this transition from a position of strength and bringing real-world experience to meet the demands of the AI factory". Learn more about @Vertiv's alignment with @nvidia below. #Vertiv #NVIDIA #tahawultech


The National
3 hours ago
- The National
Trump presses Fed's Powell to cut interest rates by a full point
US President Donald Trump called on Jerome Powell to cut interest rates by a full percentage point on Thursday, ramping up his pressure on the Federal Reserve chair. Mr Trump's latest attacks on the Fed chair came shortly after a Labour Department report showed employers added 139,000 jobs last month, slower than its March gain but still above economists' projections. The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.2 per cent. ''Too Late' at the Fed is a disaster!,' Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to Mr Powell. 'Europe has had 10 rate cuts, we have had none. Despite him, our Country is doing great. Go for a full point, Rocket Fuel!' In a series of follow-up posts, Mr Trump claimed rate cuts would allow the US to lower short and long-term rates 'on debt that is coming due'. Mr Trump has regularly attacked Mr Powell in recent months over the Fed chair's caution in cutting interest rates. Mr Powell so far has resisted the pressure from the White House and maintains that policy decisions will be data dependent. He and other members on the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee are currently debating how Mr Trump's tariffs will affect the economy. Speaking in New York on Thursday, Fed Governor Adriana Kugler laid out her support for keeping rates at their current level due to rising inflation risks. Also speaking on Thursday, Kansas City Fed president Jeff Schmid said he expects tariffs will 'likely push up prices', with their effects not being 'fully apparent for some time'. The Fed, which has left rates unchanged for the past three meetings at roughly 4.3 per cent, will hold its next two-day meeting from June 17-18. The Fed's next blackout period begins at midnight on Saturday, meaning there will be no public communications from the central bank before it announces its next rate decision. Traders anticipate the Fed will keep rates unchanged through the summer, according to CME Group data.


The National
4 hours ago
- The National
Elon Musk has 'lost his mind', Donald Trump says
Elon Musk has 'lost his mind', President Donald Trump said on Friday after a bitter falling-out between the world's richest person and the world's most powerful man. Mr Trump told ABC News in a phone call that he was 'not particularly interested' in talking to Mr Musk following Thursday's dramatic break-up. 'You mean the man who has lost his mind?' ABC quoted Mr Trump as saying. An extraordinary and public meltdown in the Trump-Musk relationship played out on social media over several hours, with a dispute over the US President's tax bill quickly escalating into a remarkably personal exchange during which Mr Musk appeared to call for Mr Trump's impeachment. It was a stunning collapse for a close relationship that deepened last year when Mr Musk pumped hundreds of billions of dollars into the Republican's campaign. The tech tycoon was invited into the inner White House to gut parts of the federal workforce through his 'Department of Government Efficiency'. Reports had suggested the two would speak by phone on Friday in a bid to patch up the damaging public row, but the White House scotched that speculation. 'The President does not intend to speak to Musk today,' a senior White House official told AFP when asked if the pair planned to speak. ABC said Mr Trump seemed 'bummed' about the collapse of the relationship, and in a telling symbol, an official told the network that the President is considering selling or giving away a Tesla he had bought to show support for Mr Musk amid protests against the company. A break-up in the billionaire bromance had appeared to be on the cards since Tuesday, after Mr Musk said the Republican President's signature 'big, beautiful' tax bill was a ' disgusting abomination ' that would blow up the national debt. The row exploded on Thursday when Mr Trump said he was 'very disappointed' in Mr Musk and threatened to end his government contracts. Mr Musk even posted, without providing proof, that Mr Trump was referenced in government documents on the disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He also approvingly retweeted a post that said Mr Trump should be impeached and Vice President JD Vance sworn in as US leader.