Hiring at small U.S. businesses showed steady strength in May, with demand for new employees surpassing planned layoffs in all sectors, a business lobby group said on Friday.
A monthly survey by the National Federation of Independent Business found small businesses added an average of 0.2 employees per business in May, matching April's increase.
"By industry, every group appears to be looking for employees and plans to create new jobs far exceed plans to reduce employment by large magnitudes," NFIB chief economist William Dunkelberg said in a statement.
The survey of 587 firms showed hiring plans were strong in construction -- which sees a seasonal boost as warm weather sets in. But manufacturing was the second most aggressive industry group, reflecting the strong demand in the factory sector after three years of layoffs.
Finance, insurance and real estate, once the strongest job producers, have faded as the home refinancing boom slowed, the group said.
"Overall, (it's) an excellent, balanced hiring picture with jobs being created everywhere," Dunkelberg said.
The group said about half of the businesses were looking for one or more employees, while 16 percent had already hired an average of 3.1 employees and 13 percent cut an average of 2.5 workers.
In a separate report, the business group said it expected the U.S. unemployment rate to decline to 5.5 percent in May. The prediction is based on a survey of NFIB members, which found 22 percent had hard-to-fill job openings -- up from 15 percent in mid-2003.
The NFIB said the percent of business owners expecting higher real sales volumes rose to 30 percent, double year-ago levels, an increase that would boost hiring.
The Labor Department is set to release its report on May employment at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT) on Friday. A Reuters survey of economists has forecast the jobless rate to be steady at 5.6 percent and payrolls to increase 216,000.