30 August 2023
After the JOLTS data suddenly exposing cracks in the ‘oh-so-strong’ labor market, the latest ADP employment report brought more disappointing news. Job growth slowed notably in August, adding only 177k jobs, the lowest figure since March 2023. This decline was particularly pronounced in the leisure and hospitality sector, which added a mere 30,000 jobs after months of strong hiring. Even across different employment sizes, the gains were modest, with larger companies leading. Wage growth also took a hit, with year-over-year pay increases slowing to 5.9% for job stayers and 9.5% for job changers. This data raises concerns about the impact of tightening measures by the Fed and the overall health of the labor market.