Yesterday’s ADP National Employment Report showed that US private sector hiring gained momentum in May, adding to a growing body of evidence that the US labour market is remaining resilient despite elevated inflation and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty.

• The US private sector added 122,000 jobs in May, beating economist forecasts of 120,000 and marking the strongest month of hiring since January 2025.
• Unlike recent months, where job growth was concentrated in a handful of sectors, gains in May were more broad-based. Eight of the 10 sectors tracked by ADP posted hiring increases.
• Education and health services led the way with 57,000 new hires, followed by trade, transportation and utilities with 36,000, and professional and business services with 11,000.
• Annual pay growth held steady at 4.4% for workers who stayed in their jobs, while those who changed jobs saw wages rise 6.5% year over year.
• Small businesses were the biggest drivers of job creation, adding 67,000 new hires, with large companies contributing 40,000.

The positive tone of the ADP report was reinforced by this week’s other jobs data revealing a jump to 7.62 million job openings in April, up sharply from March and well above year-ago levels. Together, these reports set up Friday’s official US jobs release as a key moment for markets, potentially shaping the US Federal Reserve Board’s thinking ahead of its June interest rate decision. 

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