USA businesses added a solid 177,000 jobs in August, according to a private survey, suggesting that hiring remains healthy after two months of strong gains. In a report from Dallas, which actually showed an uptick in business activity but profiled a region with a “fairly pessimistic” outlook and “slight employment declines and shorter workweek length”, an anonymous industry respondent to the survey of professionals indicated that “historical data will show that in 2016 the US was in recession”. ADP payrolls totaled 179,000 last month, while the government report was 255,000. Medium-sized businesses with between 50 and 499 employees added 44,000 jobs, and small businesses with fewer than 50 employees added 63,000 jobs.
Advertisement
The report, which is derived from ADP’s actual payroll data of 411, oo0 USA clients with 24 million workers, measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally-adjusted basis.
“This is becoming a very familiar refrain – another month, another 177,000 jobs”, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, which conducts the survey for ADP.
“Job creation remains strong, with most industries and companies of all sizes adding solidly to their payrolls”, he said. The U.S. stock market has been tranquil, with the broad Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index inching up just 0.1% heading into the final trading day of August and not moving 1% or more in either direction a single day this month. ADP, for its part, said goods-producing jobs fell by 6,000 in August while service providers hired 183,000 workers, down slightly from 199,000 in July. The goods-producing sector lost 5,000 jobs in July as well.
And manufacturing payrolls were unchanged in August. Analysts widely believe the country is closing in on full employment and that monthly job growth will eventually slow as the labor market hits capacity.
Advertisement
The services sector, the largest segment of the US economy, added 183,000 new jobs, while the goods-producing sector lost 6,000 jobs as the manufacturing sector continues to grow at a sluggish pace. Restaurant franchises led the way by adding 11,700 jobs, followed by auto parts and dealer franchises, which added 3,800 jobs last month.
