ADP: Hiring picked up in May
WASHINGTON - A survey of hiring by private companies shows moderate job growth in May.
Payroll processor ADP says businesses added 201,000 jobs last month, in line with expert forecasts. That's up from 169,000 in the previous month, which was the smallest in a year and a half. The figures suggest that the economy is recovering after it shrank at a 0.7 percent annual rate in the first quarter.
Not that the labor market is booming. Job growth this year has been "decent at best," said Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst with economic research firm The Lindsey Group, in a note, adding that monthly payroll gains as measured by ADP averaged 239,000 in 2014.
On Friday, the government will issue its official jobs report for May. Economists forecast it will show that employers added 227,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate remained 5.4 percent.
The ADP survey covers only private businesses, and frequently diverges from the official figures.