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Numbers: The United States created 163,000 seasonally adjusted private sector jobs in August, the ADP contractor said Thursday, down 217,000 in July.
This is the weakest growth since October.
Economists surveyed by Econoday were expecting 182,000 new jobs. The July figures have been revised downwards by 2,000.
What happened: Mid-sized companies led the way by adding 111,000 jobs.
By sector, professionals and businesses have created 38,000 jobs, 31,000 education and health, and recreation and hospitality, 25,000 jobs. The natural resources and mining sector lost 1,000 jobs.
Prior to the ADP report, economists surveyed by MarketWatch were waiting for the Labor Department to announce a gain of 200,000 non-farm jobs Friday.
What they say: "Although we have seen a slight slowdown in job growth, the market remains incredibly dynamic," said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute. "Midsize businesses continue to be the engine of growth, adding nearly 70% of all jobs this month and remaining resilient in the current economic climate."
Neil Dutta of Renaissance Macroresearch added, "Given the low unemployment rate, this represents a reasonably strong pace of job growth.
The big picture: Employment growth has remained strong – and in turn consumer confidence – with unemployment at its lowest for almost two decades. With more job opportunities than the people who are looking for them, the job market should stay tougher for a while.
The only real problem is the poor growth of average wages, suggesting that companies do not feel the need to compete for work.
Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA, + 0.05%
was down in the mid-morning trade and faced this week's concerns about trade with Canada, among other factors.
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