Companies Add More Jobs Than Forecast, ADP Data Show

Stephanie Strasburg/Bloomberg News

Companies added more workers than forecast in August, indicating the U.S. job market remains solid, according to data released Aug. 30 from the ADP Research Institute in Roseland, New Jersey.

Highlights of August ADP Employment

• Private payrolls rose by 237,000 (est. 185,000), the biggest gain in five months, after an upwardly revised 201,000 gain in July.

• Payrolls in goods-producing industries, which include builders and manufacturers, rose 33,000 after an 11,000 rise.

• Service providers took on 204,000 workers after 190,000.

Key Takeaways

Business demand for workers remains robust and employer dismissals are limited and hovering close to a three-decade low. Job openings are at a record and suggest strength in the labor market will continue, bolstering the outlook for consumer spending. The ADP data foreshadow another firm reading for total employment when the Labor Department issues its August jobs report on Sept. 1. Some economists may revised up their estimates after the ADP figures.

Economist Views

“The job market continues to power forward,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Pennsylvania, said in a statement. Moody’s produces the figures with ADP. “Job creation is strong across nearly all industries, company sizes. Mounting labor shortages are set to get much worse.”

Other Details

• Payrolls in trade, transportation and utilities increased by 56,000 in August, the most this year

• Hiring in construction increased by 18,000; factories added 16,000 workers.

• Professional and business services boosted their workforce by 39,000 and education and health services added 45,000 workers.

• Companies employing 500 or more workers increased staffing by 115,000 jobs; payrolls rose by 74,000 at medium-sized businesses, or those with 50 to 499 employees; and small companies’ payrolls rose by 48,000.

With assistance by Kristy Scheuble