US private sector hiring cools more than expected: ADP
Hiring in the US private sector slowed more than anticipated in August, according to payroll firm ADP on Thursday, as all eyes turn to the jobs market to gauge the economy's health.
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Private sector employment rose by 54,000 last month, ADP said, down from a revised 106,000 in July.
"The year started with strong job growth, but that momentum has been whipsawed by uncertainty," ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said in a statement.
She added that the hiring slowdown could be explained by issues ranging from a labor shortage to "skittish consumers."
While there remained job gains in areas like leisure and hospitality, industries including manufacturing and trade, transportation and utilities lost jobs.
The report comes a day before the world's biggest economy is set to report official hiring and unemployment numbers.
The most recent hiring figures showed that the key labor market was weaker than expected, sparking worries about the health of the economy.
ADP numbers, however, sometimes diverge from the government's data.
US businesses have been grappling with heightened uncertainty this year as they face rapidly changing tariff policies announced by President Donald Trump.
After returning to the presidency in January, Trump imposed a 10-percent duty on almost all trading partners, before hiking levels for dozens of these economies.
He has also progressively rolled out separate duties on sector-specific imports such as steel, aluminum and autos.
The ADP report on Thursday showed that year-on-year pay growth was 4.4 percent for those who stayed in their jobs, and 7.1 percent for those who changed jobs.
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© Agence France-Presse
Source: AFP
