ADP National Employment Report Slightly Tops Forecast

The ADP National Employment Report released Wednesday finds 177,000 people were added to private sector payrolls in August, topping the forecast of 175,000. Private sector payrolls in July were revised higher by 15,000 to 194,000.

“Job growth in August was stable and consistent with levels from previous months as consumer conditions improve,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and head of the ADP Research Institute. “Continued strong growth in service-providing jobs is offset by weakness in goods-producing areas.”

However, lower-paying service sector employment continued to carry the weight in the report, while goods-producing (manufacturing sector) continued to lose out. Service-sector employment increased by 183,000 jobs in August, fewer than the 199,000 jobs created in July. Professional/business services accounted for 53,000 jobs, down from the 70,000 over the prior month, while trade/transportation/utilities gained 26,000 jobs in August, down from 31,000 jobs in previous month.

Financial activities added 15,000 jobs, up from last month’s gain of 13,000 jobs. Goods-producing employment lost 6,000 jobs, a steeper loss that follows 5,000 in the month prior. The construction industry lost 2,000 jobs, after losing 5,000 jobs in July.

Meanwhile, manufacturing jobs were flat in August, after surprisingly adding 5,000 in the previous month. Large businesses with 500 employees or more continued to lead in job gains, creating 70,000 juxtaposed to 44,000 created by Mid-sized (50-499  employees) and 63,000 by Small firms (1-49 employees).

That didn’t deter the optimism from analysts.

“The American job machine continues to hum along. Job creation remains strong, with most industries and companies of all sizes adding solidly to their payrolls,”Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, said. “The U.S. economy will soon be at full employment.”

The ADP National Employment Report is produced by the ADP Research Institute in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics.