Private sector payrolls grew by 98,000 in June, capping the best three-month stretch for hiring in over a year, data from payroll processor ADP showed Wednesday.
The engine of job growth in June was small businesses. Employers with fewer than 20 people on their payrolls added 38,000 workers. Small businesses with between 20 and 49 employees added 15,000. Those with 50 to 249 added 19,000. Companies with 250 to 499 employees added 10,000. Larger companies added 25,000.
Payroll growth fell short of expectations. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News expected 120,000 jobs. In May, ADP estimated that payrolls grew by 122,000. The Department of Labor said private payrolls expanded by 120,000.
The lower-than-expected growth may not signal a lack of demand for workers. On Tuesday, the Labor Department showed that job postings indicated the largest number of vacant jobs in two years. Instead, employers are constrained by a slow-growing labor force, a major shift in the U.S. labor market due to the Trump administration’s immigration and border policies.
“The pace of hiring is telling a story of both supply and demand. We know it’s taking people longer to find work, but there also are signs of labor supply constraints in certain industries. For now, the overall effect is a slowdown in job creation,” ADP economist Nela Richardson said.
The hiring was widespread, with almost every sector adding workers to payrolls in June.
The growth in payrolls suggest the labor market has continued to strengthen, defying predictions that uncertainty around the Iran war and high gasoline prices would soften hiring. The government’s report on employment will be released on Thursday, a day earlier than the typical Friday release due to the Independence Day holiday.
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