Private U.S. companies added 38,000 jobs in August, down from the upwardly revised 46,000 in July and below the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 47,000.
Job growth was concentrated in three sectors: education and health services, leisure and hospitality, and construction. Manufacturing lost 17,000 jobs.
This report comes ahead of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' nonfarm payrolls count, due out Friday.
- Education and health services added 45,000 jobs:
- Leisure and hospitality added 16,000 jobs:
- Construction added 12,000 jobs:
Almost all of the gains came from large businesses, with companies employing 500 or more workers adding 34,000 jobs.
ADP's numbers also showed that pay gains held steady for the month.
For those staying in their jobs, base pay rose 3% from a year ago while gross pay increased 4.4%.
