Employment rose only slightly in August. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
The rise in U.S. private employment slowed considerably in August, rising less than expected by 54,000 jobs and is up 4.4% over last year, according to ADP.
The ADP Employment Report for August showed the slight gain, which is much lower than forecast. Expectations of economists polled by Dow Jones were a rise of 75,000 private payrolls, showing an intense slowdown of hiring.
The previous month showed a revised gain of 106,000, almost double August’s 54,000.
“The year started with strong job growth, but that momentum has been whipsawed by uncertainty,” said Dr. Nela Richardson, ADP chief economist, in a press release. “A variety of things could explain the hiring slowdown, including labor shortages, skittish consumers, and AI disruptions.”
Jobs in trade, transportation and utilities were down 17,000 from last month. Education and health services dropped 12,000.
But leisure and hospitality rocketed up by 50,000, and construction climbed by 16,000.
The median change in annual pay was up by 4.4% for those who stayed in their jobs and 7.1% for those who changed jobs.
There were 134,617,000 people employed in the private sector in August.
The ADP Employment Report is an independent measure of the labor market based on the anonymized weekly payroll data of more than 26 million private-sector employees in the United States.
