Private sector added 67,000 jobs in November, says ADP

Private sector employment growth slowed down in November, with employers adding only 67,000 jobs last month, according to payroll giant ADP.

Small businesses added 11,000 jobs in November, with businesses of between one and 19 employees actually subtracting 15,000 jobs, offset by the 25,000 jobs gained at businesses with between 20 and 49 employees. Medium businesses with between 20 and 49 employees gained 29,000 jobs. Large businesses added 27,000 jobs, including 13,000 at businesses with between 500 and 999 employees, and 14,000 at companies with 1,000 employees or more.

The service-providing sector added 85,000 jobs, including 28,000 in professional and business services such as tax prep and accounting and other services. The financial activities sector added 11,000 jobs. The trade, transportation and utilities sector lost 15,000 jobs in November, and the information industry lost 8,000 jobs.

The goods-producing sector lost 18,000 jobs, including 6,000 in the natural resources and mining sector, 6,000 in construction, and 6,000 in manufacturing. Franchises added 24,600 jobs.

"In November, the labor market showed signs of slowing," said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute, in a statement. "The goods producers still struggled; whereas, the service providers remained in positive territory driven by healthcare and professional services. Job creation slowed across all company sizes; however, the pattern remained largely the same, as small companies continued to face more pressure than their larger competitors.”

“The slowdown has been more significant than I would have thought,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics, which compiles the national employment report with ADP, during a conference call Wednesday. “The trade war is doing damage to the economy and the job market, and that is evident in the ADP data. If you look at, for example, manufacturing employment, U.S. manufacturers are on the front line and they’re taking a big hit. A year ago, manufacturers were adding 20,000 to 25,000 jobs per month on average. Now they’re shedding jobs, and we saw that in the month of November with another decline in employment. We’re seeing weakness in the resource sector. Some of that’s energy, but some of that is related to ag [agriculture], commodities and other resource industries that are being affected by the trade war. And then finally there’s weakness in the trade and transportation sector. Some of that is online retailing hurting brick and mortar retailers, but the trade war is really having an impact on the economy.”

He warned that the next round of tariffs are set to go into effect with China in the next few weeks and he believes it’s critical for them to be delayed or canceled.