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WASHINGTON | Survey: US companies added a solid 163,000 jobs in August

WASHINGTON— U.S. businesses added 163,000 jobs in August, a private survey found, a decent gain that suggests that employers are confident enough to keep hiring.

Payroll processor ADP said Thursday that the job gains were the fewest since October. But last month’s pace of hiring is still enough to lower the unemployment rate over time.

Solid economic growth is underpinning an optimistic outlook among businesses. Growth reached 4.2 percent at an annual rate in the April-June quarter, the fastest pace in four years, spurred by tax cuts and robust consumer spending.

ADP’s hiring figures come a day before the government will release its official jobs data for August. Economists have forecast that Friday’s report will show that employers added a solid 189,000 jobs last month, according to data provider FactSet.

The job gains ADP reported for August were much lower than the 217,000 that it said were added in July. Hiring by small businesses — defined as those with fewer than 50 employees — remained sluggish last month and depressed overall job growth.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, said that with the unemployment rate at a low 3.9 percent, smaller companies are having a harder time finding workers. Larger firms are typically able to offer high pay or more benefits and can pull in more employees as a result.

Hiring was particularly strong last month for medium-sized companies, with 50 to 499 employees.

Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, lowered his forecast for August hiring to 170,000 after the ADP report was issued.

“This is a bit disappointing but hardly a disaster,” Shepherdson said.

ADP compiles hiring data from millions of companies that are clients of its payroll services. Its figures frequently diverge from the government’s data but tend to approximate them over time.

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NEW YORK | ADP report says small business hiring drops in August

NEW YORK — Small business hiring fell by more than half in August, the likely result of a shrinking labor pool.

Payroll processor ADP said Thursday that its small business customers added 21,000 new jobs last month, down from 59,000 in July. That’s also less than half the monthly average of nearly 49,000 during the first seven months of this year. ADP bases its reports on payroll data from its customers with one to 49 employees.

Small business hiring has slowed from 2017, when monthly job gains averaged 61,000. The falling unemployment rate has made it harder for many companies to find qualified workers to fill their open positions.

The slower gains at small companies depressed hiring at ADP customers of all sizes. The company counted 163,000 new jobs overall, down from 217,000 in July, with hiring most strong at companies with 50 to 499 employees.

Periodic surveys of small businesses by banks and industry groups show demand for workers has increased, but many companies also say they’re not planning to hire. Among the reasons they cite: They have enough employees to get their work done now, and they don’t want to hire unless they already have revenue growth that justifies the added costs and risks of taking on more staffers.

More insight about hiring will come Friday, when the Labor Department issues its report on August employment. However, the government does not break down job gains by company size.

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WASHINGTON | Survey: US businesses add a solid 178,000 jobs in May

WASHINGTON — U.S. businesses added 178,000 jobs in May, according to a survey, a solid total but below the average monthly gains accumulated over the winter.

Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that hiring was strong in construction, education and health care, and professional and business services, which includes accounting, engineering and legal services. Retailers cut jobs.

The figures suggest companies are hiring at a healthy pace but may be pulling back as the number of unemployed dwindles, making it harder to find workers to fill jobs. From November through March, monthly job gains averaged well over 200,000.

The report arrives two days before the government releases the official monthly employment figures. Economists forecast that Friday’s official report will show employers added 190,000 jobs, according to a survey by data provider FactSet.

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By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, AP Economics Writer, By Associated Press – published on STL.News by St. Louis Media, LLC (A.S)