Private-sector job growth slowed in August, but employers continued to add a total of 177,000 jobs for the month and pay was up year-over-year, highlighting a steadying trend of post-pandemic employment recovery, according to an ADP National Employment Report released Wednesday.
The data, produced by the ADP Research Institute in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, showed a service sector gain of 154,000 jobs overall, with education/health services adding 52,000 jobs. Professional/business services, meanwhile, added 15,000 jobs. Overall, most of the August gains were driven by the leisure and hospitality sector.
The heightened pace of post-pandemic jobs activity finally may be settling down, ADP Chief Economist Nela Richardson said.
“This month’s numbers are consistent with the pace of job creation before the pandemic,” she said in a statement. “After two years of exceptional gains tied to the recovery, we’re moving toward more sustainable growth in pay and employment as the economic effects of the pandemic recede.”
By US region, private employers in the South had the biggest job gains, at 119,000, whereas the Midwest was the only region with a loss, seeing 15,000 jobs disappear. Large and medium-sized establishments attained more job growth than smaller businesses employing 49 or fewer employees, the analysts also reported.
Growth in pay down nationally
After months of strong hiring, pay growth trends also slowed in August, the first time such a downturn was experienced across all 50 states and Washington, DC, the data showed. People who remained in their jobs had a 5.9% year-over-year pay increase, the slowest rate of growth since October 2021. Pay growth also decelerated for those who found new jobs, but was up by 9.5%.
The National Employment Report analyzes the payroll transactions of more than 25 million US workers.
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