Hiring slows in January

Private employers added 205,000 net jobs last month, ADP says.

WASHINGTON — Hiring by U.S. businesses slowed in January, but private-sector job growth remained solid in a sign the labor market has been able to withstand the recent financial market turmoil, according to a report released Wednesday by payroll firm Automatic Data Processing Inc.

Private employers added 205,000 net jobs last month, down from an upwardly revised 267,000 in December, ADP said.

Economists had expected job gains to slow after an unusually strong finish last year and sharp downturns in major stock indexes. But the ADP figure was better than the 190,000 that analysts had forecast.

“Manufacturers and energy companies are reducing payrolls, but job gains across all other industries remain robust,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, which assists ADP in preparing the monthly report.

Falling oil prices have hurt the energy industry. Meanwhile, slowing economies in China and elsewhere have pushed up the dollar’s value, making U.S. goods more expensive abroad.

Manufacturing companies added no net jobs in January, down from a weak gain of 4,000 the previous month, ADP said.

But the construction industry posted a solid month, adding 21,000. That was down from 31,000 in December.

Economists expect the Labor Department to report Friday that overall job growth — private and public sector — slipped last month to 188,000. That would be down significantly from December’s robust gain of 292,000 net jobs. Still, a figure close to 200,000 would indicate growth continues to be solid.

The unemployment rate is expected to have held steady in January at 5%, the lowest level since 2008. And economists are forecasting a small rise in average hourly earnings after a slight drop in December.