WASHINGTON, June 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. private sector employment rose slightly from April to May, as labor shortage posed a greater challenge for employers in a tight job market, payroll data company Automatic Data Processing (ADP) reported on Wednesday.
Total nonfarm private employment in the United States increased by 27,000 from April to May, said the New Jersey-based data company. According to historical data, this is the lowest monthly gain since March 2010.
For firms of different sizes, the report showed that large firms with over 500 employees added 68,000 jobs, while the payroll of medium companies with 50 to 499 workers added 11,000. However, small businesses with 49 employees or less shed 52,000 jobs last month.
"Following an overly strong April, May marked the smallest gain since the expansion began," said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute.
Large companies continue to remain strong as they are better equipped to compete for labor in a tight labor market, said Yildirmaz.
"Job growth is moderating. Labor shortages are impeding job growth, particularly at small companies, and layoffs at brick-and-mortar retailers are hurting," said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics.
The ADP report usually came two days before the crucial monthly employment report is released by the U.S. Labor Department, which will include employment data from both the private sector and the government.
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