230,000 jobs added, survey finds
September increase reaches 7-month high in ADP tally
WASHINGTON — U.S. businesses added a robust 230,000 jobs in September, a private survey found, a sign that strong economic growth is spurring companies to add more workers.
Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that September’s job gain was the most in seven months. It followed 168,000 new jobs in August, a figure that was revised slightly higher.
Hiring was strong across most major industries. Construction firms added 34,000 jobs, while professional and business services, which include higher-paying jobs such as engineering and accounting as well as temporary workers, added a strong 70,000. Education and health services added 44,000 jobs.
Companies employing 500 or more workers increased staffing by 75,000; payrolls for medium-size companies, or those employing 50 to 499 workers, rose by 99,000 workers; and small companies added 56,000.
Small-business hiring at ADP customers has been erratic as owners contend with a shrinking labor pool, the result of falling unemployment, and ongoing difficulty finding qualified staff members. Small businesses have added an average 46,000 jobs each month this year, down from 61,000 during 2017.
Surveys by banks and smallbusiness groups have shown small-business owners to be generally optimistic, but also holding on to their cautious approach toward hiring and expansion that they developed during the recession.
ADP’s report came two days before the government releases jobs data for September. Economists believe Friday’s report will show employers added 183,000 jobs, according to data provider FactSet.
“The labor market contin-
ues to impress,” Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president of the ADP Research Institute, said.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, which helps compile the data, said Hurricane Florence likely had little effect on the figures. That’s because ADP counts someone as employed even if they miss work because of bad weather.
The government’s jobs data, however, count someone as employed only if he or she were paid during the period when the government conducts its jobs survey. Zandi estimates that the storm could reduce Friday’s figure by about 25,000.
Consumers are confident and businesses are spending more, pushing growth to 4.2 percent at an annual rate in the April-June quarter, the best in four years. Analysts forecast that growth could reach nearly 3.5 percent in the current quarter.
Employment gains point to the economic expansion continuing through year-end as more paychecks fuel consumer spending, the largest component of the economy, while helping to ease the impact of the intensifying trade war with China. At the same time, the smallest gain in manufacturing jobs in more than a year comes amid head winds from the tariffs.