Companies in US add most jobs in 7 months, ADP data shows

[WASHINGTON] American businesses added the most workers in seven months in September, a sign hiring is holding up in a tight job market, according to data released Wednesday by the ADP Research Institute.

Key Takeaways

The data, ahead of the Labor Department's monthly jobs report Friday, suggest hiring remains resilient despite the constraint of a limited pool of workers to fill positions. Demand for workers was most intense in construction as well as administrative and support services and health care and social assistance, ADP's report showed.

Employment gains point to the economic expansion continuing through year-end as more paychecks fuel consumer spending, the largest component of the economy, while helping to ease the impact of the intensifying trade war with China. At the same time, the smallest gain in manufacturing jobs in more than a year comes amid headwinds from the tariffs.

Economist's View

"The job market continues to power forward," Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, said in a statement. Moody's produces the figures with ADP. "Employment gains are broad-based across industries and company sizes. At the current pace of job creation, unemployment will fall" into the low three-per cent range by this time next year, he said.

Other Details

Hiring in construction rose by 34,000, matching biggest gain in 2018; manufacturing added 7,000, least since July 2017.

Professional and business services boosted employment by 70,000; within that, administrative and support services added 38,000.

Employment in trade, transportation and utilities grew by 30,000; leisure and hospitality up 16,000, financial activities rose 16,000.

Natural resources and mining advanced by 5,000.

Companies employing 500 or more workers increased staffing by 75,000; payrolls for medium-sized companies, or those employing 50 to 499 workers, rose by 99,000 workers; and small companies added 56,000.

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