US private sector job growth hits 4-year low

The US private sector added fewer jobs than expected in August, marking the slowest pace of growth in nearly four years, according to a report issued by Automatic Data Processing (ADP) today, Sept. 5.

This signals a slowdown in the labor market and raises concerns about a potential recession in the US economy.

The ADP report showed that the private sector added 99,000 jobs in August—which is the slowest job growth since January 2021.

In comparison, 111,000 jobs were added in July, revised down from 122,000. Expectations for August were 140,000 new jobs.

The report also noted that annual wage growth for employees who retained their jobs remained steady at 4.8%. Wage growth in the natural resources and mining sector was 3.9%, construction was 5.2%, and industry was 4.7%.