WASHINGTON, May 30 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. private sector added 178,000 jobs in May, suggesting the labor market continued to grow at a healthy pace, according to data released by the ADP Research Institute on Wednesday.

That was higher than 163,000 jobs added in the previous month but a little below market expectations of 190,000 job gains for this month.

By industry, there were 61,000 new professional and business services jobs, 39,000 new construction jobs, and 35,000 new jobs in education and health, according to the ADP.

"The hot job market has cooled slightly as the labor market continues to tighten," Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute, said in a statement.

"Healthcare and professional services remain a model of consistency and continue to serve as the main drivers of growth in the services sector and the broader labor market as well," he said.

The ADP survey studied data from private businesses with nearly 24 million workers on payrolls but excludes government job growth.

The U.S. Labor Department will release its jobs report for May on Friday, which is the key indicator for the Federal Reserve to decide whether to raise interest rates at its next policy meeting on June 12-13.