Automatic Data Processing, which, among other things, handles payrolls for hundreds of thousands of clients,
reported Wednesday that the private sector created 218,000 new jobs in July, considerably fewer than the 281,000 ADP reported last month. The report marks the fourth consecutive month ADP has calculated that the U.S. economy created more than 200,000 new private jobs.
The ADP report is rarely a close mesh with the Bureau of Labor Statistics' calculation of new jobs. The BLS reports job creation in both the private and public sector for each month. In June, it reported 262,000 new private-sector jobs and 26,000 public-sector jobs. Its next report will be announced Friday. If the consensus of analysts is correct, it will be the sixth consecutive month the BLS has reported creation of more than 200,000 new jobs. The average for the past five months is 248,000.
Specifically, in July, ADP reported these jobs:
Goods-producing—16,000 (down from 43,000 in June)
Service-providing—202,000 (down from 238,000 in June)
Construction—12,000 (down from 36,000 in June)
Manufacturing—3,000 (down from 12,000 in June)
Trade/transportation/utilities—52,000 (down from 56,000 in June)
Financial activities—9,000 (down from 12,000 in June)
Professional/business services—61,000 (down from 79,000 in June)
"Although down from June, the July jobs number marks the fourth straight month of employment gains above 200,000,” said Carlos Rodriguez, president and chief executive officer of ADP.
Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, said, "The July employment gain was softer than June, but remains consistent with a steadily improving job market. At the current pace of job growth unemployment will quickly decline. Layoffs are still receding and hiring and job openings are picking up. If current trends continue, the economy will return to full employment by late 2016.”
The Hamilton Project, however,
projects that on the basis of ADP's figures for the past six months, it will take until June of 2018 to return to what economists consider full employment.