The labor market continued to cool last month, and job creation among private employers slowed for the fifth straight month, according to the monthly ADP National Employment Report Economy Lab report released Thursday.
The report, which analyzes the payroll transactions of more than 25 million US workers, is produced by the ADP Research Institute in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab.
“The job market’s downward drift brought us to slower-than-normal hiring after two years of outsized growth,” ADP Chief Economist Nela Richardson said in a press release issued in conjunction with the report.
The health/education sector added 29,000 jobs out of 99,000 jobs added to the economy overall in August, compared with 22,000 jobs added in July. Health/education added more jobs than other service sector during the month.
Large companies (those with 500 or more employees) gained the most jobs in August, at 42,000. Medium-sized firms (with 50 to 499 employees) gained 68,000 jobs in the month, whereas small companies (with one to 49 employees) saw a decrease of 9,000.
Regionally, the biggest job gains in August occurred in the South, where 55,000 jobs were added. Private employers in the Northeast added 24,000 jobs, followed by the West, with 20,000 jobs added and the Midwest with 7,000 jobs added.
Pay gains
“The next indicator to watch is wage growth, which is stabilizing after a dramatic post-pandemic slowdown,” Richardson said.
Year-over-year gains in pay were flat in August, according to the report. Pay gains for job-stayers remained at 4.8%, and they were 7.3% for job-changers.
Companies with 19 or fewer employees saw the smallest median change in annual pay, at 4%; at companies with 20 to 49 employees, it was 4.7%; at companies with 500 or more employees, 4.8%; at companies with 250 to 499 employees employees, it was 4.9%; and at companies with 250 to 499 employees, it was 4.9%. Companies with 50 to 249 employees saw the greatest change, 5%.
