Conflicting data from the BLS and ADP leaves the true health of the financial sector open for debate.<\/p>\n
The latest U.S. job numbers for Wall Street don\u2019t line up.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday that employment in the financial activities sector fell by 22,000 jobs<\/a> in May, with insurance carriers losing 11,000 positions and commercial banking eliminating 3,000 jobs. The ADP National Employment <\/a>Report<\/a>, issued a day earlier, however, saw the same sector add 7,000 new jobs, a difference of 29,000 jobs.<\/p>\n \u201cHiring was more broad-based in May than we\u2019ve seen in the last few years,\u201d Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, said in the report. \u201cThe labor market continues to show sustained momentum going into the summer hiring season.\u201d<\/p>\n But by how much is open for debate. The BLS\u2019s Employment Situation Summary for May notes that nonfarm payroll employment increased by 172,000, up approximately 50% from April\u2019s figure<\/a>. ADP\u2019s report, on the other hand, estimated that U.S. private employers added 122,000 new jobs across all sectors, up approximately 12% from the preceding month.<\/p>\n The two employment reports often tell different stories because they rely on different methodologies and underlying data sets. The BLS draws on nationwide employer and household surveys, while ADP estimates job growth using payroll records from its private-sector client base.<\/p>\n Insurance Takes a Hit<\/p>\n According to the BLS data for May<\/a>, insurance carriers and related activities saw the greatest job declines in the sector (-10,700); followed by credit intermediation and related activities (-4,800); securities, commodity contracts, funds, trusts, and other financial vehicles, investments, and related activities (-4,600); and monetary authorities-central bank (-100).<\/p>\n These numbers should be surprising, given that institutions such as\u00a0Standard Chartered<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Commerzbank<\/a>\u00a0announced plans to lay off thousands of employees in May, while\u00a0Bank of America, Citi, and Wells Fargo\u00a0continue their\u00a0existing downsizing plans.<\/p>\n According to ADP data, the financial activities sector trailed job growth in other sectors, including education and health services (57,000 jobs); trade, transportation, and utilities (36,000 jobs); professional and business services (11,000 jobs); and leisure and hospitality (8,000 jobs). The only sectors that Wall Street beat were the miscellaneous \u201cother services,\u201d which added 4,000 jobs, as well as the information sector, which lost 9,000 jobs, and the natural resources and mining sector, which lost 3,000 jobs.<\/p>\n Barbell Hiring<\/p>\n Small businesses hired the most employees in May, according to ADP data. Firms with between one and 19 employees hired 49,000 employees, while companies with between 19 and 49 employees added 18,000. The largest companies, with more than 500 employees, filled 40,000 jobs. Companies that fell in between created 17,000 new jobs.<\/p>\n In other words, job growth for the period was driven by the two extremes of the hiring spectrum, with mom-and-pops on one end and corporate giants on the other.<\/p>\n