Private-sector employers added 237,000 jobs to payrolls last month, according to the monthly ADP National Employment Report, which was released this morning by the payrolls processor. Earlier this week, economists polled by Reuters were predicting the addition of 183,000 jobs.
“The job market continues to power forward. Job creation is strong across nearly all industries, company sizes,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, which produces the report with ADP. “Mounting labor shortages are set to get much worse. The initial BLS employment estimate is often very weak in August due to measurement problems, and is subsequently revised higher. The ADP number is not impacted by those problems.”
Where the Jobs Are
“In August, the goods-producing sector saw the best performance in months with solid increases in both construction and manufacturing,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute.
“Additionally, the trade industry pulled ahead to lead job gains across all industries, adding the most jobs it has seen since the end of 2016. This could be an industry to watch as consumer spending and wage growth improves,” said Zandi.
Goods-producing industries added 33,000 jobs last month. Construction added 18,000 jobs, while manufacturing added 16,000 jobs. Mining shed 1,000 jobs.
On the service-providing side, job gains were centered in trade/transportation/utilities (+56,000 jobs), leisure/hospitality (+51,000 jobs), healthcare/social assistance (+42,000 jobs), professional/business services (+39,000 jobs) and financial activities (+11,000 jobs). Other services added 5,000 jobs, while information shed 3,000 jobs.
Large businesses (500 or more employees) added the most jobs last month, at 115,000. Medium-sized businesses (50 to 499 employees) added 74,000 jobs, while small businesses (fewer than 50 employees) added 48,000 jobs.
Economists polled by Reuters predict that Friday’s jobs report from the Labor Department will show the addition of 180,000 jobs to non-farm payrolls and an unemployment rate holding steady at 4.3 percent.
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