Private sector employers added 104,000 jobs in July, payroll giant ADP reported Wednesday, in a sign of improving employment trends in some sectors, with average pay up 4.4% year-over-year.
The 104,000 jobs added in July was a big improvement from a revised negative number of 23,000 in June. The service-providing sector added 74,000 jobs in July, including 9,000 in professional and business services such as accounting and tax preparation.
“It was really the service sector that showed the strongest comeback, namely professional/business services, which was really the difference-maker in this report, going from 57,000 lost in June to a plus 9,000,” said ADP chief economist Nela Richardson during a conference call Wednesday. “That was a strong rebound for the month.”
However, she noted that the gains are down from the first quarter. “There was a big turnaround for professional/business services,” she added. “Still it’s not quite the same sector it was in the first quarter where we saw an average of 28,000 jobs in the first three months of the year — 9,000 is not at the same level, though it is a positive gain and we’ll take it.”
There were 28,000 jobs added in July in the financial activities sector, which includes banking, and 46,000 added in the leisure and hospitality sector, but 38,000 lost in education and health services.
The goods-producing sector added 31,000 jobs, including 15,000 in construction and 7,000 in manufacturing. Small businesses with between one and 19 employees added 22,000 jobs, but businesses with between 20 and 49 employees lost 10,000 jobs. Midsized businesses with between 50 and 249 employees added 55,000 employees, while those with between 250 and 499 employees lost 9,000 jobs. Large establishments with 500 employees or more gained 46,000 jobs.
Pay gains changed little in July, as year-over-year pay growth in July was 4.4% for people who stayed in their jobs and 7% for those who changed jobs. The job gains have held steady for the past four months. In professional and business services, it was 4.2% for job stayers.
“Job changers are the most sensitive to real-time economic conditions and the fact that you can still get in this labor market, even with slowing hiring momentum, a 7% pay bump from switching jobs is a good sign that the labor market continues to be healthy, and continues in July to be able to support consumer spending, which is the backbone of the economy,” said Richardson.
