On Friday, the National Employment Report revealed new insights into the private-sector labor market.
The report, produced by the ADP Research Institute in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, is based on aggregated and anonymized payroll data from more than 26 million U.S. employees.
ADP also tracks the salaries and wages of over 14.8 million individual workers over a period of 12 months.
According to the National Employment Report's website, eight of ten super sectors reported gains last month, with employers of all sizes hiring. By establishment size:
- 1-19 employees: +49,000
- 20-49 employees: +18,000
- 50-249 employees: +10,000
- 250-499 employees: +7,000
- 500+ employees: +40,000
Sectors with job gains included
- Construction (+8,000)
- Manufacturing (+3,000)
- Trade, transportation, and utilities (+36,000)
- Financial activities (+7,000)
- Professional and business services (+11,000)
- Education and health services (+57,000)
- Leisure and hospitality (+8,000)
- Other services (+4,000)
"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," said Dr. Nela Richardson, Chief Economist, ADP.
Natural resources and mining (-3,000) and Information (-9,000) experienced job losses. Since its peak in November 2022, information sector employment has declined by 342,000, or 11 percent.
The transportation and warehousing sector added over 38,000 courier and messenger positions in April, but overall employment in this sector has decreased by 105,000 since its February 2025 peak.
Dr. Nela Richardson is the chief economist at ADP. She co-leads the ADP Research Institute, analyzing macro labor market trends and tracking millions of economic data points to provide real-time insights on jobs and wages. Richardson joined ADP in late 2020.
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.
Last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported job gains in nursing and residential care facilities (+15,000) and home health care services (+11,000). Retail trade employment remained stable over the past year. Department stores (-7,000) and electronics and appliance retailers (-2,000) saw job losses, while warehouse clubs, supercenters, and other general merchandise retailers (+18,000), as well as building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers (+13,000), reported increases.
Before the June 5, 2026, Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report, Revelio Public Labor Statistics (RPLS) noted significant employment growth in public administration and healthcare.
In contrast, Starbucks and Inspire Brands (including Dunkin’) experienced the largest job losses in leisure and hospitality.
Labor demand was steady in May, with RPLS active postings down 0.3 percent from April.
The Information sector led the decline in postings, while Leisure and Hospitality and Finance saw notable increases.
Public Administration, Health Care, and Professional and Business Services contributed most to employment gains in May, whereas Retail Trade and Leisure and Hospitality posted significant losses.
Transportation and Warehousing had the highest number of layoff notifications in May, followed by Information.
The largest declines in attrition occurred in Other Services, Leisure and Hospitality, Public Administration, Transportation and Warehousing, Health Care and Social Assistance, Financial Activities, and Professional and Business Services.
The most significant drops in total job posting volumes were in Education and Health Services, Professional and Business Services, and Information. Retail Trade and Public Administration also saw notable decreases.
Revelio Labs compiles hundreds of millions of public employment records into a comprehensive HR database, offering workforce intelligence for analyzing workforce composition and trends.