The numbers: U.S. businesses added 152,000 new jobs in May to mark the smallest increase this year, paycheck company ADP said, in what appears to be another sign of a broader slowdown in hiring.
Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast a gain of 175,000.
ADP is not a good predictor historically of the government's official jobs estimate that follows a few days later, but the two reports do move in in the same direction over time.
The government on Friday is expected to report that 190,000 new jobs were created in May, according to a Wall Street Journal poll.
Big picture: Job openings have fallen to the lowest level in three years and hiring appears to have slowed, potentially paving the way for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates later this year.
The key is whether a surge in wages over the past few years continues to ebb. Businesses are still adding workers faster than the growth of the labor force and that could keep some upward pressure on inflation.
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