May 2025 ADP Report: U.S. Private Sector Adds 37,000 Jobs

U.S. private sector employment rose by just 37,000 in May 2025, the weakest monthly gain since March 2023, according to the latest ADP National Employment Report released in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab.

The report, which analyzes anonymized payroll data from more than 25 million U.S. workers, offers a real-time snapshot of labor market conditions.

Employment Highlights

• Total private sector job growth: +37,000
• Goods-producing sector: -2,000 jobs
  • Natural resources/mining: -5,000
  • Construction: +6,000
  • Manufacturing: -3,000
• Service-providing sector: +36,000 jobs
  • Largest gains:
    • Leisure and hospitality: +38,000
    • Financial activities: +20,000
  • Largest losses:
    • Professional and business services: -17,000
    • Education and health services: -13,000

Regional Job Trends

• West: +37,000
• Midwest: +20,000
• South: -5,000
• Northeast: -19,000

Employment by Business Size

• Small firms (<50 employees): -13,000
• Medium firms (50–499 employees): +49,000
• Large firms (500+ employees): -3,000

Economic Commentary

“After a strong start to the year, hiring is losing momentum,” said Dr. Nela Richardson, Chief Economist at ADP. “Nevertheless, pay growth remains steady across the board for both job-stayers and job-changers.”

Wage Growth Overview – May 2025

• Job-stayers: +4.5% year-over-year (unchanged)
• Job-changers: +7.0% year-over-year (unchanged)

By Industry (Job-Stayers):

• Financial activities: +5.2%
• Leisure and hospitality: +4.8%
• Manufacturing: +4.6%
• Trade/transportation/utilities, Information, Professional/business services: +4.2%

By Firm Size (Job-Stayers):

• Small firms (1–19 employees): +2.6%
• Medium firms (50–499 employees): ~+4.8–4.9%
• Large firms (500+ employees): +4.8%

Source: ADP National Employment Report – May 2025.