Employment in the USA grew in May for 5th month running, pointing to gains in wages that will help US households ride out the turmoil in financial markets, economists said.
Payrolls climbed by 508,000 workers last month, the biggest increase since 1997, according to the median estimate of 64 economists.

The gain reflected a surge in government hiring of temporary help to conduct the census and a 180,000 rise in private employment, according to the survey.

The economic recovery is poised to broaden beyond manufacturing in June, solidifying the expansion and reducing the risk it will be derailed by forces such as the European debt crisis or the Gulf oil spill. Other reports may show the rebound is broadening beyond manufacturing as service providers, including retailers and construction firms, see a pickup in demand. General Electric Co. is among those hiring.

“The labor market is clearly improving,” said James O’Sullivan, global chief economist at MF Global Ltd. in New York. “At this point, there’s enough momentum in the economy to outweigh the drag from the turmoil in Europe.”

The Labor Department’s jobs report is due June 4. The Census Bureau had said it would take on 970,000 temporary workers from April through June to conduct the population count that occurs every 10 yrs. The bulk of the hiring likely took place last month. —Paul A. Ebeling, Jnr. www.livetradingnews.com

Posted by Shayne Heffernan on May 31st, 2010and filed underEquities, Latest News, Markets, USA.You can follow any responses to this entry through theRSS 2.0You can leave a response by filling following comment form or trackback to this entry from your site