U.S. Companies Add 156,000 Workers, Led by Services

(Bloomberg) -- Hiring at companies accelerated in July for a second month, according to a private report, underscoring a sturdy job market that’s helping drive the longest expansion in U.S. history.

Private payrolls increased by 156,000 after a revised 112,000 gain in June, figures from ADP Research Institute showed Wednesday. The July advance was slightly better than estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists that called for a 150,000 rise. Employment gains were led by large businesses, while hiring at small firms was moderate.

Key Insights

• The report precedes the Labor Department’s employment report on Friday, which is expected to show payrolls increased by about 165,000 in July, in line with average monthly gain of the decade-long expansion. The jobless rate is projected to hold at 3.7%, close to an almost 50-year low.
• Goods-producing jobs rose by 9,000 driven by construction, the ADP figures showed.
• Service-provider employment advanced 146,000.
• Hiring at small businesses rose 11,000 in July after declining the prior two months, while large companies took on 78,000 workers.

Economist’s View

“Job growth is healthy, but steadily slowing,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc., said in a statement. Moody’s produces the figures with ADP. “Small businesses are suffering the brunt of the slowdown. Hampering job growth are labor shortages, layoffs at bricks-and-mortar retailers, and fallout from weaker global trade.”

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• Gains in services were led by health care and professional and business services.
• ADP’s payroll data represent about 411,000 firms employing nearly 24 million workers in the U.S.

To contact the reporters on this story: Ryan Haar in Washington at rhaar3@bloomberg.net;Jeff Kearns in Washington at jkearns3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Scott Lanman at slanman@bloomberg.net, Vince Golle, Michael McKee

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