The U.S. labor market saw a slowdown in job creation in June, as private employers added 98,000 positions, according to the latest ADP National Employment Report released Wednesday.
The report, produced by ADP Research in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, highlights a cooling trend in the hiring landscape. While payrolls continue to expand, experts point to a combination of shifting supply and demand dynamics.
“The pace of hiring is telling a story of both supply and demand,” Dr. Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP said. “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.”
Job growth remained uneven across the economy in June. The service-providing sector led the way with 96,000 new jobs, significantly outpacing the goods-producing sector, which added only 2,000.
Education and health services provided the strongest boost, contributing 48,000 jobs. Financial activities and information sectors also saw gains, while the leisure and hospitality industry continued to experience weak hiring, marking its sixth consecutive month of stagnation.
Regionally, the South led the country in job growth with 37,000 new positions, followed by the Northeast with 33,000, the Midwest with 21,000, and the West with 17,000. Small businesses remained the primary drivers of employment, accounting for 53,000 of the total jobs added.
Despite the slowdown in hiring, wage growth remains persistent. For those who stayed in their current positions, median annual pay increased by 4.4% year-over-year. Meanwhile, workers who switched jobs saw their pay grow at a faster clip, with median annual pay for job-changers accelerating to 6.6%.
Industry data shows that employees in financial activities saw some of the highest pay gains, with job-stayers in that sector receiving a 5.1% increase, followed by manufacturing at 4.9%.
