Companies in the private sector lost 32,000 jobs in June, payroll processing firm ADP said Wednesday.
The figure is below economists’ estimates of a gain of 50,000 jobs. The prior month’s payrolls number was revised downward to a loss of 3,000 from an initially reported gain of 54,000.
“Despite the strong economic growth we saw in the second quarter, this month’s release further validates what we’ve been seeing in the labor market, that U.S. employers have been cautious with hiring,” said ADP chief economist Nela Richardson.
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Despite widespread job losses in September, the education and health services sector gained 33,000 positions in the month. Natural resources and mining added 4,000 positions and information gained 3,000.
Meanwhile, leisure and hospitality lost 19,000 positions while other services shed 16,000. Professional and business services lost 13,000 jobs and financial activities shed 9,000.
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Trade, transportation, and utilities lost 7,000 jobs, while construction and manufacturing shed 5,000 and 2,000, respectively.
Large businesses – those with 500 or more employees – added 33,000 jobs in the month. Businesses with 50 to 499 employees lost 20,000 workers. Establishments with fewer than 50 employees shed 40,000 jobs.
Wage growth in September was little changed from last month. People staying in their roles saw their pay climb 4.5% from the prior year, while pay gains for those staying in their jobs slowed to 6.6% from 7.1% in August.
The ADP data is released before the Labor Department’s nonfarm payrolls report, which is due on Friday morning and can differ notably. The government data is expected to show an increase of 50,000 positions, above the 22,000 reported in August.
However, due to a partial government shutdown after lawmakers failed to approve a funding extension, the Labor Department said it would halt all economic data releases. This includes the initial jobless claims on Thursday and September nonfarm payrolls data on Friday.
Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee said Tuesday the central bank will look at alternate data sources to consider at its October meeting if upcoming economic data is not released as scheduled. The Fed looks at payrolls data to help make decisions on interest rates. The Fed’s next policy meeting is scheduled for Oct. 28-29.
“The Bureau of Labor Statistics is the best source of data that we have,” Goolsbee told FOX Business Network’s Edward Lawrence in an exclusive interview. “It pains me that we wouldn’t be getting official statistics at exactly a moment when we’re trying to figure out is the economy in transition.”
