The ADP report is back and better than ever! I’m not 100% certain about that, but they are back with a new formula after a two-month absence. Their August report completely missed economist predictions so time will tell on the accuracy of the newest formula.
- Private employers created 132,000 jobs in August, a step down from the month before, when the economy created nearly 270,000 jobs and is half what economists were projecting.
Still positive across the board. All levels of employers were positive in August with large employers creating the most jobs with a 54,000 jump for the month,
- Midsize companies were a close second creating 53,000 jobs and small companies created 25,000.
Top categories. Leisure & hospitality is still the top category for job creation in August with 96,000 new jobs for the month followed by Trade, transportation, & utilities (+53,000) and construction (+21,000).
- Not all categories were positive. Financial activities were down 20,000 followed by education & health services (-15,000) and professional & business services (-14,000).
Slowing down. Nela Richardson, Chief Economist at ADP, said the booming labor market is still going up but at a slower pace. “Our data suggests a recent shift toward a more conservative pace of hiring, possibly as companies try to decipher the economy’s conflicting signals. We could be at an inflection point, from super-charged job gains to something more normal.”