US companies added 132,000 jobs in August, new ADP data show

US companies increased headcount at a relatively sluggish pace in August, the revamped ADP National Employment Report showed on Wednesday (Aug 31).

Businesses’ payrolls rose 132,000 this month after a nearly 270,000 gain in July, according to the ADP Research Institute in collaboration with Stanford Digital Economy Lab. The latest report reflects updated methodology.

The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 300,000 gain in private employment.

The figures, which are based on payroll transactions of more than 25 million US workers, offer a supplementary view of labour market conditions ahead of the government’s monthly jobs report. Economists will likely take ADP’s data into account, along with a slew of other labour market indicators, when determining to what extent the Federal Reserve’s rapid pace of monetary tightening is impacting the health of the broader jobs market.  

In June, ADP announced that it would be teaming up with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab to retool the report’s methodology to “provide a more robust, high-frequency view of the labour market and trajectory of economic growth.” The report has been on pause since the May report. BLOOMBERG