Private employers added 132,000 jobs to payroll in August, a decrease from the previous month (+270,000 jobs), according to the latest ADP National Employment Report.
“Our data suggests a recent shift toward a more conservative pace of hiring, possibly as companies try to decipher the economy’s conflicting signals,” said Nela Richardson, ADP’s Chief Economist. “We could be at an inflection point, from super-charged job gains to something more normal.”
Within the private sector, leisure and hospitality (+96,000); trade, transportation, and utilities (+54,000); and construction (+21,000) experienced the most job growth over the month. On the opposite end, financial activities (-20,000), education and health services (-15,000) and professional and business services (-14,000) lost jobs in August. Private employment changes by establishment size ranged from -47,000 (1-19 employees) to +74,000 (50-249 employees).
Annual pay rose 7.6% in August for those who stayed in their jobs and 16.1% for those who changed jobs. All major industries had increases in annual pay over the month, with the highest rates in leisure and hospitality (12.1%); trade, transportation, and utilities (8.4%), and natural resources and mining (8%). Median changes in pay by establishment size ranged from +5.4% (1-19 employees) to +8.3% (500+ employees).
