U.S. Job Growth Hit 16-Month High in May.

thenationalpulse.com

Stronger-than-expected job growth in May hints at labor market momentum ahead of the summer, especially at small businesses, despite previous reports of historically low consumer sentiment.

PULSE POINTS

❓ WHAT HAPPENED: More than 120,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy in May, surpassing expectations and marking the largest monthly gain since January 2025.📺 DETAIL: Automatic Data Processing (ADP), an American payroll processing multinational, reported that 122,000 private sector jobs were added in May, surpassing the projected 120,000. This marks the largest monthly gain since the beginning of last year. According to ADP Chief Economist Dr. Nela Richardson, hiring in May was more broad-based than in recent years, seeing gains across multiple sectors. Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees led the hiring surge, although medium and large businesses also experienced solid increases. Trade and Transportation, Education and Health Services, and Professional and Business Services sectors added the most jobs, while the Information Services sector saw the largest losses. Natural Resources and Mining jobs also experienced a slight dip.💬 KEY QUOTE: “Hiring was more broad-based in May than we’ve seen in the last few years… The labor market continues to show sustained momentum going into the summer hiring season.” – Dr. Nela Richardson, Chief Economist, ADP.🎯 IMPACT: The stronger-than-expected job growth underscores the resilience of the labor market, even as reports from sources like the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index suggest record-low consumer sentiment. In April, it was reported that consumer sentiment crashed to a record low of 49.8. This marks the lowest level since data collection began in 1978. The same month, it was reported that the U.S. job market added 178,000 jobs in March. This represented a rebound from February’s loss of 133,000 jobs. While such reports of job creation are good news for the U.S. economy, they coincide with fresh data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing that roughly 90 percent of net new jobs in the U.S. since COVID-19 have been filled by foreign-born workers. This shows that job creation is not enough on its own, and that measures must be implemented to ensure that the jobs created are filled by Americans, especially those currently out of work.