WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A report released by payroll processor ADP on Wednesday showed private sector employment in the U.S. increased by less than expected in the month of August.
ADP said private sector employment rose by 38,000 jobs in August after climbing by an upwardly revised 46,000 jobs in July.
Economists had expected private sector employment to grow by 48,000 jobs compared to the addition of 44,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
The modest increase in August reflected the slowest pace of job creation since private sector employers added just 11,000 jobs in January.
'The acceleration in payroll gains in the first half of the year looks to have cooled, settling into a more tepid pattern associated with the no hire, no fire labor market,' said Matthew Martin, Senior U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.
He added, 'Given the low breakeven employment rate, the slower employment gains aren't a cause for concern in regard to the unemployment rate.'
ADP said the education and health care, construction, and leisure and hospitality sectors all showed solid hiring, while the manufacturing, professional services, and information sectors shed jobs.
On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched monthly report on employment, which includes both public and private sector jobs.
Economists currently expect employment to climb by 55,000 jobs in August after dipping by 23,000 jobs in July, while the unemployment rate is expected to tick up to 4.2 percent from 4.1 percent.
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