Private-sector employers added 178,000 jobs in July, according to payroll processor ADP. Prior to the ADP National Employment Report’s release, economists polled by Reuters were predicting the addition of 185,000 jobs.
“Job gains continued to be strong in the month of July,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute, in a statement. “However, as the labor market tightens employers may find it more difficult to recruit qualified workers.”
The big question is whether a tighter labor market will lead to higher wages. The PayScale Index, which measures the change in wages for employed U.S. workers, showed 0.5 percent wage growth from Q1 to Q2. Year-over-year wage growth for Q2 was 2.4 percent. However, the real value of workers’ wages is 7.5 percent lower today than in 2006.
Where Jobs Are Growing
“The American job machine continues to operate in high gear,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, which produces the report with ADP. “Job gains are broad-based across industries and company sizes, with only manufacturers reducing their payrolls. At this pace of job growth, unemployment will continue to quickly decline.”
The goods-producing sector added 4,000 jobs total. Natural resources and mining added 3,000 jobs, and construction added 6,000 jobs. However, manufacturing declined by 4,000 jobs.
On the service-providing side, employers added 174,000 jobs. The following industries grew last month: professional and business services (+65,000 jobs), education and health (+43,000 jobs), trade/transportation/utilities (+24,000 jobs), leisure and hospitality (+15,000 jobs), financial activities (+13,000 jobs), and information (8,000 jobs).
Midsized companies — those with between 50 and 499 employees — added the most jobs last month, at 83,000. Small companies (1 to 49 employees) added 50,000 jobs and large companies (500-plus employees) added 45,000 jobs.
Friday’s report from the Labor Department is expected to show the addition of 183,000 jobs to public and private, non-farm payrolls. The unemployment rate is expected to drop slightly to 4.3 percent.
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