May was the slowest month of private payroll increases since April 2020, leading payroll processing firm ADP reported Thursday.
Private sector employment rose by only 128,000 in May, falling significantly short of the Dow Jones estimate of 299,000, CNBC reported. The number of new jobs suggests are deceleration in the pandemic-era recovery for the U.S., and marked the worst month since the mass layoffs of April 2020, the outlet continued.
ADP’s figures, which are often a little different to government figures, previously found that payrolls had increased by nearly 500,000 per month in the last year, CNBC continued. “Under a backdrop of a tight labor market and elevated inflation, monthly job gains are closer to pre-pandemic levels,” ADP’s chief economist Nela Richardson said, according to CNBC. “The job growth rate of hiring has tempered across all industries, while small businesses remain a source of concern as they struggle to keep up with larger firms that have been booming as of late.”
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Small businesses were hit hardest during May, and companies who employed fewer than 50 people reduced payrolls by 91,000, CNBC continued. A majority of those layoffs (78,000) came from companies with fewer than 20 employees.
Companies with 500 or more employees experiences gains of 122,000 in their payrolls, while midsized firms added 97,000 jobs, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Bank Of America Issues Dire Warning To Americans)
Much of the slowdown may be related to the fear that the U.S. is about to go through a serious recession, largely triggered by mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic leading to the highest level of inflation in 40 years, CNBC argued.