NEW YORK, June 1: US companies hired far fewer workers than expected in May and output in the manufacturing sector slowed to its lowest level since 2009, adding to concerns that the US recovery is running out of steam.

Economists slashed their forecasts for Friday's US payrolls report, considered the best barometer of the world's biggest economy, after private-sector job growth tumbled to just 38,000, its lowest level in eight months.

Wednesday's reports were the latest signals that US economic growth remained sluggish in the second quarter after hitting a soft patch in the first months of the year.

“This is all consistent with the notion that we've hit a bump in the road when it comes to growth,” said Anthony Chan, chief economist at J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Management in New York.

Factory growth around the world weakened last month, surveys from Europe to Asia showed, raising concerns that important export markets for US companies are drying up.

The worse-than-expected US slowdown could prompt the Federal Reserve to stick with its super-easy monetary policies for longer than previously thought.

It also fuelled questions about whether the central bank might even embark on a third round of bond-buying to help prop up the economy.

Chan said the weakness was unlikely to last so long as to justify the Fed launching more bond purchases, a move that would run into fierce opposition within the US Congress and from policymakers around the world, but it could force the Fed to keep interest rates low for longer.

The ADP report showed private payrolls fell from a downwardly revised 177,000 in April and were well short of expectations for 175,000. It was the lowest level since September 2010.—Reuters