Payroll

Hourly earnings grew at small businesses this month, but the pace of job growth slackened.

The unemployment rate fell one-tenth of a point to 3.5%, a level not seen since before the pandemic.

The pace of pay and job increases declined from June, according to Paychex.

Ernst & Young employees were upset to discover their paycheck deposits had been reversed after a glitch at its payroll processing company ADP.

Small businesses kept adding jobs and increasing wages amid the tight labor market last month, but the pace declined from May, according to payroll company Paychex.

The economy added 390,000 jobs in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, including 16,000 jobs in accounting and bookkeeping services.

The private sector added a modest total of 128,000 jobs in May, according to payroll giant ADP, but that was after losing 91,000 jobs at small businesses.

Employees at small businesses in the U.S. experienced the 12th month in a row of increases in hourly earnings this May, but the pace of job growth slackened, according to payroll giant Paychex.

Employees at accounting firms and other types of businesses are continuing to work remotely, or coming into the office less, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues with the emergence of new and more transmissible Omicron subvariants.

Employers in the private sector added 247,000 jobs last month, according to payroll giant ADP, as the labor market slowed amid inflationary pressures and rising interest rates, with small businesses losing ground.