Private sector employers in the United States added nearly 375,000 jobs in August, about 40 percent less than predicted by economists as the coronavirus pandemic continued to exert its toll on the labor market, the ADP (Automatic Data Processing) National Employment Report revealed on Wednesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st September, 2021) Private sector employers in the United States added nearly 375,000 jobs in August, about 40 percent less than predicted by economists as the coronavirus pandemic continued to exert its toll on the labor market, the ADP (Automatic Data Processing) National Employment Report revealed on Wednesday.
"We have seen a decline in new hires, following significant job growth from the first half of the year," ADP Chief Economist Nela Richardson said in a statement that reported a total gain of 374,000 positions for last month. "Job gains are approaching 4 million this year, yet still 7 million jobs short of pre-COVID-19 levels. Service providers continue to lead growth, although the Delta variant creates uncertainty for this sector. Job gains across company sizes grew in lockstep, with small businesses trailing a bit more than usual."
Economists polled by US media had forecast an addition of 625,000 private sector jobs in August.
"The Delta variant of COVID-19 appears to have dented the job market recovery," said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics. "Job growth remains strong, but well off the pace of recent months. Job growth."
The ADP data on private sector employment came ahead of the August non-farm payrolls report, due from the Labor Department, which will include both public and private sector jobs numbers. Economists are expecting the NFP report to show an addition of 748,000 jobs for last month after a sterling growth of 943,000 jobs in July.
More than a year into the COVID-19 crisis, restoring job growth remains one of the biggest challenges of US policymakers.
The United States lost more than 21 million jobs between March and April 2020, at the height of business lockdowns forced by the coronavirus. At least 7 million of those lost jobs have yet to be filled with new positions, officials say.
