Monster Worldwide Inc, an online careers and recruiting firm, said its employment index rose 0.7 percent to 147 points last month from 146 in April. The index was up 2.8 percent from 143 a year ago.

The index saw annual growth in 13 of the 20 industries and 17 of the 23 occupations monitored last month.

The transportation and warehousing sector held the top spot, rising 27 percent from a year ago, while finance and insurance picked up momentum, up 9 percent.

The report was another look at the jobs market ahead of the government's non-farm payrolls report later on Friday, which is expected to show the economy added 150,000 jobs last month.

The Monster Employment index is a monthly analysis based on a selection of corporate career sites and job boards. The margin of error is approximately plus or minus 1 percent.

(Reporting By Leah Schnurr; Editing by Diane Craft)