An article summarized by Fox Business:
Private-sector hiring slowed sharply in August, with companies adding just 38,000 jobs, according to ADP. That was below economists’ expectations of 48,000 jobs and down from July’s revised gain of 46,000, making August the weakest month for private-sector job growth since January. ADP’s chief economist said the labor market is becoming increasingly uneven, with inflation, demographic changes, and AI contributing to more complicated hiring and wage trends.
The strongest job growth came from education and health services, which added 45,000 jobs. Leisure and hospitality gained 16,000 positions, while financial activities and other services each added 6,000. However, several major sectors lost jobs, including manufacturing, which shed 17,000 positions, and professional and business services, which lost 16,000. Information, trade and transportation, and natural resources and mining also saw declines.
Large companies drove most of August’s hiring, adding 34,000 jobs, while medium-sized businesses saw essentially no growth and small businesses added just 3,000 jobs. Despite the slower hiring environment, wages continued to rise: workers who stayed in their jobs saw pay increase 4.4% year over year, while workers who switched jobs received an average pay increase of 7.3%.
