Private sector employment decreased by 2.76 million jobs from April to May according to the May ADP National Employment Report.

The total comes on top of a plunge of 19.6 million jobs in April, the worst in the survey’s history. Economists had been looking for a decline of 8.75 million jobs. The reason for the wide disparity was not immediately clear.

“The impact of the COVID-19 crisis continues to weigh on businesses of all sizes,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, co-head of the ADP Research Institute. “While the labor market is still reeling from the effects of the pandemic, job loss likely peaked in April as many states have begun a phased reopening of businesses.”

Broadly distributed to the public each month free of charge, the ADP National Employment Report is produced by the ADP Research Institute in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics. The report, which is derived from ADP’s actual payroll data, measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

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May 2020 Report Highlights (view the ADP National Employment Report infographic here)

Total U.S. Nonfarm Private Employment:  -2,760,000

  • By Company Size
    • Small businesses: -435,000
    • Medium businesses: -722,000
    • Large businesses: -1,604,000
  • By Sector
    • Goods-produced -794,000
    • Natural resources/mining -52,000
    • Construction -22,000
    • Manufacturing -719,000
  • Service-providing: -1,967,000
    • Trade/transportation/utilities -826,000
    • Information -115,000
    • Financial activities -196,000
    • Professional/business services -250,000
    • Education/health services -168,000
    • Leisure/hospitality     -105,000
    • Other services     -307,000
  • Franchise Employment
    • Franchise jobs -254,100

Photo courtesy The Economic Times