The U.S. economy saw a boost last month in the private sector, which grew by 201,000 jobs, according to the economic report released today by payroll-processing company ADP and its partner Moody's Analytics. This is up from the downwardly revised figures of 165,000 jobs added in April and 176,000 added in March.
"The labor market moved back up to the 200,000-jobs-added mark in May, a number which has been something of a bellwether for healthy employment growth,” said Carlos Rodriguez, president and chief executive officer of ADP, in a press release. “We hope that the May number is the beginning of an upward trend going into the summer months.”
In the sectors relating to the built environment, the construction industry saw a decent gain of 27,000 jobs, up from the previous month’s growth of 24,000 jobs. Professional and business services, which likely includes architects and engineers, grew by 28,000 jobs in May, down from April’s 35,000. However, the manufacturing industry experienced its third consecutive month in negative territory; the industry lost 5,000 jobs in May, and 5,000 jobs in April.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled to release its April jobs report on Friday, which provides more specific details about job growth in the construction, architecture, and engineering fields.
Charts: Jess Rubenstein; Source: ADP and Moody's Analytics
