US private payrolls surge by 278,000 in May, exceeding estimates: Report

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US private payrolls rose by 278,000 in May, exceeding estimates, according to a report released Thursday by the ADP Research Institute in collaboration with Stanford Digital Economy Lab.

The market expectation was an increase of 170,000 jobs. The figure in April was slightly revised down from a gain of 296,000 to 291,000.

The report emphasized that job growth in May was strong while pay growth continued to slow.

"This is the second month we've seen a full percentage point decline in pay growth for job changers," Nela Richardson, the ADP chief economist, said in the report. "Pay growth is slowing substantially, and wage-driven inflation may be less of a concern for the economy despite robust hiring."

Among businesses, small and mid-sized enterprises added 235,000 and 140,000 jobs, respectively, while large businesses experienced a decline of approximately 106,000.

The leisure and hospitality sector posted the highest gain, adding 208,000 jobs, whereas the manufacturing sector suffered the largest decline, losing 35,000 jobs.