ADP Report Shows Private Sector Added 122,000 Jobs in May, Pay Up 4.4%

Private‑sector payrolls grew by 122,000 jobs in May, surpassing analysts’ expectations and marking a broad‑based hiring surge, according to ADP’s latest National Employment Report [2]. The report also notes that year‑over‑year pay for workers who stayed in the same job rose 4.4 percent [2].

Key takeaways

• Private‑sector employment rose 122,000 jobs in May, outpacing the consensus estimate of 120,000 [1].
• Small firms (fewer than 50 employees) added 67,000 jobs, while large firms (500+ employees) contributed 40,000 [1].
• Eight of ten ADP‑tracked supersectors posted gains, led by education and health services (+57,000) and transportation/utilities (+36,000) [1].
• Pay growth for job‑stayers was 4.4 percent year‑over‑year; job‑changers saw a slight slowdown to 6.5 percent [2].
• Regional hiring was strongest in the West (+45,000) and Northeast (+35,000) [3].

Broad‑Based Hiring Across Firm Sizes and Industries

ADP’s chief economist Dr. Nela Richardson described the May hiring pattern as “more broad‑based than we’ve seen in the last few years,” noting that employers of all sizes were adding staff [2]. Small establishments accounted for more than half of the total job gains, with 67,000 new positions, while medium‑sized firms added 17,000 and large firms 40,000 [1]. Among the ten supersectors tracked, education and health services led with 57,000 jobs added, followed by transportation and utilities (36,000) and professional and business services (11,000) [1]. Goods‑producing sectors contributed modest gains (8,000), whereas information services saw a loss of 9,000 jobs [1].

The industry breakdown from TradingView’s coverage adds further detail, showing service‑providing sectors driving most of the increase (114,000 jobs) and specific gains in construction (+8,000), manufacturing (+3,000), and financial activities (+7,000) [3]. Losses were recorded in natural resources/mining (‑3,000) and information (‑9,000) [3].

Regional and Pay Insights

Geographically, the West added the most jobs (45,000), with the Pacific region alone contributing 25,000, while the Northeast added 35,000 and the Midwest 21,000 [3]. The South’s net gain was 23,000, though the South Atlantic sub‑region posted a decline of 12,000 jobs [3].

Pay data from ADP’s Pay Insights show that workers who remained in the same job saw annual compensation rise 4.4 percent year‑over‑year, a steady pace across firm sizes and industries [2]. For job‑changers, the growth rate slipped slightly to 6.5 percent from 6.6 percent in April [2]. Industry‑specific pay growth for stayers ranged from 4.0 percent in information services to 5.1 percent in financial activities [3].

Why it matters

The ADP figures provide an early, high‑frequency snapshot of private‑sector labor dynamics ahead of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ May employment report, which is expected to show a slower pace of nonfarm payroll growth (around 105,000 jobs) and an unemployment rate near 4.3 percent [1]. The strong hiring across small firms and diverse regions suggests continued resilience in the labor market as the summer hiring season approaches. However, sectoral losses in information services and natural resources/mining indicate uneven growth, and the modest slowdown in pay gains for job‑changers could signal tightening wage pressures. Policymakers and businesses will likely watch the upcoming BLS data to gauge whether the momentum observed by ADP translates into broader economic stability.