ADP: July Private-Sector Jobs Up 163000, Above Expectations

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Private businesses hired at a better-than-expected pace in July, according to a report released Wednesday. Private-sector jobs in the U.S. increased 163,000 last month, according to a national employment report calculated by payroll processor Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) and consultancy Macroeconomic Advisers. The gain was far above economists’ median expectation of 108,000 contained in a survey done by Dow Jones Newswires. The June data were revised to show an advance of 172,000 instead of the 176,000 increase reported earlier.

The ADP survey tallies only private-sector jobs, while the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ nonfarm payroll data, to be released Friday, include government workers. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expect total nonfarm payrolls increased by 95,000 in July and the jobless rate is projected to remain at 8.2%. Forecasters are unlikely to change their projections for Friday’s payrolls in part because ADP has had big misses in recent months. For June employment, for example, ADP originally estimated 176,000 new jobs, but the total BLS gain was only 80,000. ... Continue to read.