Automated Data Processing (ADP) reported that total nonfarm payrolls rose 201,000 in August, up from the 173,000 gain observed in both June and July. The bulk of the net new jobs came from the service sector, which added 185,000 workers.
Manufacturers hired just 3,000 more workers on net in August, down from 6,000 in July. The sector continues to experience significant weaknesses with slowing global economic growth and rising anxieties. For the goods-producing sector as a whole, there were 16,000 net new workers.
As with past reports, small and medium-sized establishments accounted for most of the net job gains, or 92 percent of them in August. In fact, large goods producers shed 3,000 workers.
These numbers suggest an uptick in hiring, albeit with modest growth overall. Of course, everyone will be closely watching the official job creation figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which will be out tomorrow morning. The consensus estimates for nonfarm payroll growth for August is below the estimate from ADP, with around 125,000 net new workers predicted. The unemployment rate is anticipated to remain unchanged (or possibly rise to 8.4 percent).
