A report from ADP on Wednesday showed private sector payrolls grew less than expected in November, reflecting a slowing labor market.
Companies added 146,000 this month, down from October’s downward revision of 184,000 and below the Dow Jones estimate of 163,000.
Education and health services led to job creation, adding 50,000 positions during the month. This was followed by 30,000 new jobs in construction, 28,000 new jobs in trade, transportation and utilities, and 20,000 new jobs in other service categories.
Manufacturing lost 26,000 jobs this month. Businesses with fewer than 50 employees also reported a decrease of 17,000.
Wage growth accelerated, rising 4.8%, the faster pace since October and the first time in 27 months.
“While overall growth was healthy this month, industry performance was mixed,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP. “Manufacturing was the weakest since the spring. Financial services, leisure and hospitality were also weak.”
Although the total was lower than expected and the October revision was revised down, the ADP data remained far ahead of the more closely watched nonfarm payrolls data from the Bureau of Labor Services, which showed that only 12,000 jobs were added in October.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report, due out on Friday, is expected to show a gain of 214,000, after a strike at Boeing and storms in the Southeast led to a decline in October’s total, according to Dow Jones.
