WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. private payrolls increased more than expected in June, indicating that the labor market remains strong despite growing risks of a recession from higher interest rates.
Private payrolls jumped by 497,000 jobs last month, the ADP National Employment report showed on Thursday. Data for May was revised lower to show 267,000 jobs added instead of 278,000 as previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast private employment increasing 228,000.
The labor market has remained resilient despite 500 basis points worth of interest rate hikes from the Fed since March 2022, when the U.S. central bank embarked on its fastest monetary policy tightening campaign in more than 40 years to stamp out inflation.
A survey last month showed consumers’ perceptions of the labor market more upbeat in June relative to May.
The ADP report, jointly developed with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, was published ahead of the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics’ more comprehensive and closely watched employment report for June on Friday.
According to a Reuters survey of economists, private payrolls likely increased by 200,000 jobs in June. With further gains anticipated in government employment, mostly local government recruitment of teachers, total nonfarm payrolls are forecast to have risen by 225,000 jobs last month after surging 339,000 in May.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
