D&B’s U.S. Economic Health Tracker Shows 297,000 Non-Farm Jobs Added in May

On Jun 3, 2014

Short Hills-based D&B,  a source of commercial information and insight on businesses, announces an estimated 297,000 new non-farm jobs were added to U.S. payrolls in May, according to D&B’s May U.S. Economic Health Tracker. This report provides a monthly, multi-dimensional perspective on the U.S. economy, including small business health, total job growth, and overall U.S. business health.

“While many of the structural impediments for U.S. business have been removed, like credit availability, lackluster global economic growth and uncertainty still constitute significant challenges. We believe second-quarter growth will be above 3 percent, but we are downgrading our outlook for the year.”

U.S. businesses added jobs at a stronger pace in May 2014 compared to April, with the business services and trade/transportation/utilities segments showing marked employment growth. At the same time, D&B’s Small Business Health Index continued to stabilize, owing to on-time bill and credit-card payments. Additionally, overall U.S. business health improved once again in May, according to the U.S. Business Health Index, signaling a lower risk of overall business failure.

“The big question for us is, ‘Has spring sprung?’ We believe the expansion is accelerating but at a pace slower than we originally expected,” said Paul Ballew, Chief Data & Analytics Officer, D&B. “While many of the structural impediments for U.S. business have been removed, like credit availability, lackluster global economic growth and uncertainty still constitute significant challenges. We believe second-quarter growth will be above 3 percent, but we are downgrading our outlook for the year.”

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