Employment data

Annual pay rose 7.3% year-over-year, ADP reported, although larger companies actually subtracted jobs.

Hourly earnings growth slowed last month to its weakest level since March of last year.

The best firms are currently securing independent contractors to assist during the 2023 busy season and beyond.

Worrisome job losses occurred in a number of sectors, including professional and business services.

Hourly earnings and hiring slackened at small businesses, although workers put in more hours, boosting their weekly pay, Paychex reported.

Hourly earnings growth at small businesses declined to its lowest level since over a year ago, while hiring also slowed, according to a report from Paychex.

The economy gained 315,000 jobs last month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, although the unemployment rate inched up two-tenths of a point to 3.7%.

Hiring in professional and business services and financial activities appears to be slowing.

Hourly earnings grew at small businesses this month, but the pace of job growth slackened.

The unemployment rate fell one-tenth of a point to 3.5%, a level not seen since before the pandemic.