The employment
report published by Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) and Moody's Analytics on
Wednesday revealed that U.S. private employers shed 37,000 jobs in June. This marked the first
decrease in private-sector employment since March 2023 (-53,000).
Economists had anticipated
an addition of 95,000 new jobs in June.
Meanwhile, the May
figure saw a downward
revision to 29,000 from the originally reported 37,000.
According to
the report, the June decline
in hiring was due to losses in professional and
business services (-56,000), education and health services (-52,000), and financial
activities (-14,000). At the same time, leisure and hospitality (+32,000), manufacturing
(+15,000), and trade, transportation and utilities (+14,000) posted the biggest
gains.
The report also
revealed that pay increases eased marginally in June. Pay growth for
job-stayers was 4.4 per cent y-o-y, slightly down from 4.5 per cent y-o-y in the previous month.
Meanwhile, pay growth for job-changers was 6.8 per cent y-o-y, down from 7.0 per cent y-o-y in May.
Commenting on
the latest data, Nela Richardson, Chief Economist at ADP, noted that, though
layoffs continue to be rare, a hesitancy to hire and a reluctance to replace
departing workers led to job losses last month. “Still, the slowdown in hiring
has yet to disrupt pay growth,” she added.