Payroll-processing firm ADP and their partner Moody’s Analytics released the May employment reporttoday, stating that the U.S. economy added 179,000 private-sector jobs last month. This number reflects slowed growth from the increase of 215,000 jobs in April and 198,000 in March—which were both revised up from the initially reported 220,000 and 191,000, respectively. “The job market has yet to break out from the pace of growth that has prevailed over the last three years,” says Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi in a press release.
The change in employment in the construction industry lines up with the change in total employment. The industry added 14,000 jobs last month—down from 16,000 in April and 21,000 in March. Zandi echoed his statements from last month in a conference call about his expectations for increased construction activity in the next few years due to a shift from an oversupplied market to an undersupplied market.
The manufacturing industry was the outlier in the report, with an increase of 10,000 jobs—up from a mere 2,000 in April and 5,000 in March. This industry has seen significant growth this year, except in January when the year began with a loss of 11,000 manufacturing jobs.
The professional and business services sector, a broad category that most likely includes architects and engineers, had seen consistent growth since the beginning of year, but took a downturn last month. The sector added 46,000 jobs in May, following 75,000 in April and 57,000 in March.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report is scheduled for release on Friday morning, providing more detailed information about the economic state of the construction and architecture fields.
Charts: Maggie Goldstone; Source: ADP, Moody's Analytics