Good afternoon and welcome to Markets Desk.
Private payrolls came in stronger than expected in May, with ADP reporting businesses added one hundred twenty two thousand jobs — the biggest monthly gain in sixteen months. Critically, the growth was broad-based this time, not concentrated in healthcare alone, which suggests the labor market may be finding firmer footing after a prolonged soft patch.
Shifting to Washington, Republican Senator Thom Tillis is openly breaking with the White House, declaring that intelligence nominee Bill Pulte — currently running the federal housing regulator — quote, doesn't have a prayer of confirmation. Tillis's rebuke signals real friction within the Senate GOP caucus at a moment when the administration needs unified support for its personnel agenda.
On the talent pipeline, Bank of America accepted fewer than one in one hundred internship applicants this year, fielding roughly two hundred forty thousand applications for under two thousand spots. Despite widespread AI automation across the bank, the size of the incoming class is essentially unchanged from last year — though executives are now wrestling with a harder question: how do you train interns for skills that AI is quietly absorbing before they ever get the chance to practice them.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
