ADP jobs report May 2026: Payrolls increase by 122,000

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Private hiring saw robust growth in May, according to a report from ADP. The payroll processing firm reported that companies added 122,000 workers in May, surpassing the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 110,000. This marks the strongest month for job growth since January 2025, with April’s total being revised down by 4,000.

Unlike previous months where job growth was concentrated in specific sectors, the gains in May were more widespread. Eight out of the 10 sectors tracked by ADP saw gains, and hiring was evenly distributed across different company sizes and geographical locations.

The education and health services sector led the way with 57,000 new hires, followed by trade, transportation, and utilities with 36,000 hires. Professional and business services added 11,000 jobs, while construction and leisure and hospitality both saw an increase of 8,000 jobs. However, information services reported a loss of 9,000 jobs, possibly due to the impact of artificial intelligence growth, and natural resources and mining also reported a loss of 3,000 jobs.

ADP’s chief economist Nela Richardson noted that hiring in May was more broad-based compared to previous years, indicating sustained momentum in the labor market as we head into the summer hiring season. Companies with fewer than 50 employees led the way with 67,000 new hires, while medium-sized firms added 17,000 jobs and companies with 500 or more employees contributed 40,000 new hires.

In terms of salary, annual pay rose by 4.4% for those staying in their current jobs, consistent with April’s numbers. However, job-switchers saw a slight decrease in pay growth, with an increase of 6.5%.

Following the release of the report, stock market futures were mixed, and Treasury yields rose. The report comes just ahead of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ release on nonfarm payrolls for May, with the Wall Street consensus expecting a growth of 80,000 jobs and an unchanged unemployment rate of 4.3%.

Federal Reserve officials will closely monitor the jobs numbers ahead of their June policy meeting, with markets anticipating that the central bank will maintain its benchmark interest rate in a range between 3.5% and 3.75%.

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