Private employers hire fewer workers

Washington: US private employers hired fewer workers than expected in May, a setback for the labour market recovery, despite temporary census hiring pushing overall payrolls growth to its fastest pace in 10 years.

The Labour Department said payrolls rose by 431,000 as the government hired 411,000 workers to conduct the population count. That was the largest monthly increase since March 2000 and marked a fifth straight month of gains.