Tag: private sector
Private Sector Added 230,000 Net New Jobs Last Month, ADP Says

Private Sector Added 230,000 Net New Jobs Last Month, ADP Says

By Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON — Private employers added 230,000 net new jobs in October, a solid gain that indicates the labor market is continuing to improve, payroll firm Automatic Data Processing said Wednesday.

In addition to last month’s gains, the firm revised up September’s private-sector job growth by 12,000, to 225,000 net new positions.

“The job market is steadily picking up pace,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, which assists ADP in preparing the closely watched report.

“Job growth is strong and broad-based across industries and company sizes,” he said. “The job market will soon be tight enough to support a meaningful acceleration in wage growth.”

The private-sector gains were slightly better than analysts expected and bode well for Friday’s Labor Department job report.

Economists expect that report to show the overall U.S. economy — private and public sectors — added 240,000 net new jobs in October. That would be down from September’s 248,000 figure, but still would represent steady growth.

The unemployment rate is forecast to have remained at 5.9 percent in October, which is the lowest since mid-2008.

ADP said job growth was up sharply in October for midsized companies, defined as those with 50-499 employees. Those firms added 122,000 net new positions last month, more than double the 47,000 added in September.

But companies with more than 500 employees added just 5,000 net new jobs, down from 85,000, ADP said.

The well-paying construction industry added 28,000 net new jobs last month, up from 13,000 in September, it said.

Another high-wage sector, manufacturing, saw hiring fall off sharply to 15,000 net new positions in October, down from 33,000 the previous month. But the September figure was the best since 2011.

Overall, goods-producing industries added 48,000 net new jobs last month, down from 50,000 in September. Service-providing companies increased their payrolls by 181,000 in October, up from 176,000 the previous month.

AFP Photo/Justin Sullivan

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Private Sector Adds Surprisingly Strong 281,000 Jobs in June, ADP Says

Private Sector Adds Surprisingly Strong 281,000 Jobs in June, ADP Says

By Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON — Private employers added a surprisingly strong 281,000 net new jobs in June, the most since late 2012, payroll firm Automatic Data Processing Inc. said Wednesday.

The figure was up sharply from 179,000 in May and is a positive sign heading into Thursday’s official jobs report from the Labor Department.

Analysts had expected the closely watched ADP report to show that private-sector job growth improved in June, but had anticipated an increase of just 213,000.

The June figure was the best since ADP reported 293,000 net new private-sector jobs in November 2012.

“The job market is steadily improving,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, which assists ADP in preparing the report.

“Job gains are broad-based across all industries and company sizes,” he said. “Judging from the job market, the economic recovery remains fully intact and is gaining momentum.”

Economists project that the government will report on Thursday that the economy added about 211,000 net new jobs in June, down from 217,000 the previous month. The unemployment rate is forecast to hold at 6.3 percent, its lowest level since September 2008.

AFP Photo/Mark Wilson

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Private-Sector Job Growth Slowed In May To 179,000, ADP Reports

Private-Sector Job Growth Slowed In May To 179,000, ADP Reports

By Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times

Private-sector job growth slowed in May to 179,000, the lowest level since January, payroll firm Automatic Data Processing said Wednesday.

The figure was below analyst expectations for 210,000 net new jobs. ADP also revised down its April estimate by 5,000, to 215,000.

“After a strong post-winter rebound in April, job growth in May slowed somewhat,” said ADP Chief Executive Carlos Rodriguez.

Still, the May figure was an improvement over the 163,000 net new jobs a year earlier and was in line with the average over the previous 12 months, he said.

The ADP report comes two days before the Labor Department’s monthly report on private- and public-sector job growth. But it can be an unreliable indicator.

For example, ADP initially reported 220,000 net new private-sector jobs in April. The Labor Department said the figure was 273,000.

Some of that April growth was a bounce back from sluggish hiring in the winter because of extreme weather in much of the country. Economists have been expecting a slowdown in May.

The consensus forecast is that the Labor Department will report Friday that the economy added 213,000 net new jobs in May. The unemployment rate is projected to rise 0.1 percentage points to 6.4%.

May’s private-sector job growth was disappointing, said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, which assists ADP in preparing the report.

“The job market has yet to break out from the pace of growth that has prevailed over the last three years,” he said.

The slower growth last month came largely from less hiring by professional and business services companies, which added 46,000 net new jobs compared with 75,000 the previous month, Zandi said.

Companies that provide temporary workers in those fields might have become more cautious after aggressive hiring during the past year, he said.

Construction, another important industry, saw job growth drop by 2,000, to 14,000, in May, the lowest level since August, ADP said.

In a positive sign, hiring by manufacturing firms increased sharply, with 10,000 net new jobs in May compared with 2,000 the previous month, ADP reported. It was the best job growth for that sector since December.

Photo: Samuel Huron via Flickr

ADP: U.S. Private Job Creation Falls In May

ADP: U.S. Private Job Creation Falls In May

Washington (AFP) – The U.S. private sector churned out a net 179,000 new jobs in May, a disappointing fall from April, payrolls company ADP said Wednesday.

It was the lowest level in four months, and suggested U.S. economic growth remains in second gear.

The May figure was down 36,000 positions from April’s total, with a sharp slowdown in the number of new jobs coming in the professional and business services sector. Hiring remained slow, as well in trade and transportation, and in construction.

“After a strong post-winter rebound in April, job growth in May slowed somewhat,” said ADP president Carlos Rodriguez.

Even so, he added, “the 179,000 jobs-added figure is higher than May of last year and in line with the average over the past twelve months.”

Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics called the ADP data “curious” and inconsistent with the signs of a stronger jobs market that come from other data on the economy.

He said that the government’s official report on the jobs market in May should be more buoyant, showing a firm 230,000 new jobs generated by the private sector and government when it comes out on Friday.

Photo:  Frederic J. Brown via AFP