The US labor market just sent a pretty uncomfortable signal. ADP’s July National Employment Report showed private-sector payrolls grew by just 44,000 last month, well below the 68,000 to 70,000 jobs economists had penciled in. June’s figure came in at 95,000 after a downward revision. July’s number represents the lowest monthly gain in six months.
What the numbers actually say
The services sector did the heavy lifting in July, adding 47,000 jobs. Goods-producing industries, which covers manufacturing and construction, shed 3,000 positions.
The preliminary NER Pulse showed an average of just 16,500 jobs added per week over the four weeks ending July 4.
The ADP report is produced in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab and draws on anonymized payroll data from more than 25 million US workers.
