MarketWatch - 05/09/2013 (10h04min - horário de Brasília) Private-sector job growth slows slightly in August By Ruth Mantell, MarketWatch WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Private-sector employment growth slowed down slightly last month, as employers added the fewest jobs since May, according to data released Thursday morning. Private employment expanded by 176,000 jobs in August, with gains at small, medium and large businesses. “There is little evidence that fiscal austerity and health-care reform have had a significant impact on the job market,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, which prepares the report with ADP data. Meanwhile, a trend in private employment shows a slow, but steady, expansion over the past few months. The three-month moving average for private job gains rose to 188,000 in August, up from 140,000 in May. “It is steady as she goes in the job market,” Zandi said. Analysts polled by MarketWatch had expected an August gain of 185,000, compared with an originally estimated increase of 200,000 in July. On Thursday, ADP revised July’s gain to 198,000. Markets look to ADP’s report on private-sector payrolls to provide some guidance on the U.S. Department of Labor’s jobs estimate, which will be released Friday and includes information on both private and public-sector payrolls. Economists expect the government to report Friday that nonfarm-payroll employment expanded by 170,000 in August, slightly higher than July’s gain of 162,000. Economic data are under a microscope as analysts try to estimate when the Federal Reserve could start tapering its massive bond buying program. An announcement could come as early as this month if the Fed deems the economy healthy enough. There’s been some concern that rising mortgage rates are taking an unexpectedly large toll on the housing market’s recovery. Elsewhere Thursday, a report from outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed that announced layoffs rose above 50,000 in August, hitting the highest level since February, and were up 57% from the year-earlier period. Driven by less international demand for mining equipment, cuts announced in August were led by the industrial-goods sector, which had more than 22,000 layoffs, the largest tally since January 2009. “While that definitely has an impact on the economy, it is not as worrisome as an overall slowdown in construction or manufacturing,” said Chief Executive John Challenger in a statement. Elsewhere Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that the number of Americans who applied for new unemployment-insurance benefits is close to a five-and-a-half year low. Later this morning, data are expected to show that non-manufacturing activity expanded in August, but at a slightly slower pace. marketwatch/story/private-sector-job-growth-slows-slightly-in-august-2013-09-05/print?guid=F15DF662-1620-11E3-8ACF-002128040CF6
Posted on: Thu, 05 Sep 2013 13:05:44 +0000
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