Job Growth Dwindles Across Businesses of All Sizes

No matter the size of the business, job growth spiraled in August across the U.S., where hiring plummeted by roughly 54,000 jobs compared to the prior month. According to a Sept. 10 report by payroll service provider ADP, only 163,000 jobs were added in August, falling well below the 206,000 monthly average and the 217,000 added in July.

Despite describing last month’s findings as “sluggish,” Ahu Yildirmaz, ADP Research Institute’s vice president and co-head, said in a statement that the business community remains strong. Hiring declined throughout businesses of all sizes; however, the ADP report states job growth in small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) was worse off, with less than half of its July numbers—after adding 59,000 jobs in July, SMBs added a bleak 21,000 jobs in August.

Moody’s Chief Economist Mark Zandi told CNBC the trade war is impacting larger companies because “they’re starting to become more cautious in their hiring.”

“The job market is hot. Employers are aggressively competing to hold onto their existing workers and to find new ones,” Zandi said in the article. “Small businesses are struggling the most in this competition, as they increasingly can’t fill open positions.”

Jobs in the service sector exceeded those in manufacturing, the former growing to 139,000 jobs in August, CNBC reported. Professional and business services hit a stride with 35,000 jobs, followed by education and health services, leisure and hospitality, and then trade, transportation and utilities. Meanwhile, manufacturing came in at 19,000 new jobs, with 5,000 in the construction sector.

—Andrew Michaels, editorial associate

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