Private Survey: Companies added a solid 253,000 jobs in May

WASHINGTON — U.S. private businesses added a robust 253,000 jobs in May, a private survey found, a sign that employers expect economic growth to keep plowing ahead.

Payroll processor ADP said Thursday that the hiring primarily came from companies with fewer than 500 employees_which accounted for more than 75 per cent of the jobs added last month. Total hiring is up from 174,000 jobs in April and nearly matched the 255,000 jobs added in March.

The strong gains all point to a falling unemployment rate. This is because the hiring exceeds the roughly 80,000 people who come into the job market each month, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. With hiring at the current pace, companies are choosing among a shallower pool of jobseekers_which may cause many firms to raise pay in order to attract talented workers.

“Labour shortages are quickly becoming businesses’ number one problem_and that problem is only going to get worse,” said Zandi, who expects that the government’s 4.4 per cent unemployment rate could soon fall below 4 per cent.