ADP says companies in U.S. added 173,000 employees in May

WASHINGTON – Companies added 173,000 workers to payrolls in May following a revised 166,000 rise in the prior month, figures from the ADP Research Institute in Roseland, New Jersey, showed Thursday.

The median forecast of 45 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for an advance of 173,000. Estimates ranged from gains of 105,000 to 205,000. The prior month’s figure was previously reported as a gain of 156,000.

Federal Reserve policy makers, considering when to raise interest rates next, have said they expect continued improvement in the job market. The economy expanded at a modest pace across most of the U.S. since mid-April, causing the labor market to tighten as employers kept adding jobs and nudging wages higher, the central bank said in its Beige Book on Wednesday.

The May jobs report, to be issued by the Labor Department Friday, may show private payrolls climbed by 150,000 employees after a 171,000 increase in April, according to the median forecast in the Bloomberg survey. It may also show overall payrolls, which include government agencies, grew about 160,000, the same as the prior month, while the unemployment rate fell to 4.9 percent, matching the lowest level since 2008, from 5 percent.

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