US private sector employment rises 177,000 in August

According to data released on Wednesday by Automatic Data Processing (ADP), private-sector employment in the United States increased by 177,000 in August. This result came in below the market expectation of 195,000 and following a 371,000 increase (revised from 324,000) in July.

“Job stayers saw a year-over-year pay increase of 5.9%, the slowest growth since October 2021,” the ADP further noted in the press release and said pay growth also decelerated to 9.5% for job changers.

Assessing the report, “this month’s numbers are consistent with the pace of job creation before the pandemic,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP.

“After two years of exceptional gains tied to the recovery, we’re moving toward more sustainable growth in pay and employment as the economic effects of the pandemic recede,” she added.