U.S. private payroll data on Thursday indicated that the nation’s labor market remains strong despite growing fears about an incoming recession as interest rates remain high.
Data from the ADP National Employment showed that private payrolls rose by 497,000 jobs last month, significantly outpacing the 267,000 payrolls added in May. Economists polled by Reuters expected a rise of 228,000 payrolls in June.
Since March 2022, the Federal Reserve has increased interest rates by a combined 500 basis points – its fastest rate-hiking campaign in over 40 years. Despite this rampant rate rise, the labor market has remained resilient as the latest payroll figures have shown.
Jointly developed with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, ADP’s report was published ahead of the more comprehensive and higher monitored report from the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics due to be released on Friday.
According to economists polled by Reuters, job gains were mostly expected in government employment, with a particular focus on teaching jobs on a local government level.