201,000 jobs added in August, ADP says

Payroll firm ADP provided a better-than-expected report on August employment across the U.S.

Private sector employment jumped in August by 201,000 jobs, according to an estimate released Thursday by payroll firm ADP.

ADP's forecast was ahead of consensus estimates of between 140,000 and 145,000. The Department of Labor will release its August report Friday morning.

But the ADP National Employment Report said hiring was up 99,000 in small businesses and 86,000 in medium-sized businesses, though only 16,000 among businesses with 500 or more employees. Much of the increase was in the service sector, with 185,000 new jobs in August compared to 16,000 in the goods-producing sector ? 3,000 of them in manufacturing.

READ the entire ADP report.

The improved August data paints a brighter picture for the economy than it has been trending in recent months. The U.S. unemployment rate was 8.3 percent in July with evidence of a slower pace of hiring since the spring. Pittsburgh region and Pennsylvania data will be released several weeks from now but the unemployment rate locally has ticked up in recent months. It was 7.4 percent in July.

"The gain in private employment in August is strong enough to suggest that the national unemployment rate may have declined," said Macroeconomic Advisers LLC Chairman Joel Prakken in a prepared statement. "Today's estimate, if matched by a similar reading on employment from the BLS on Friday, will alleviate concerns that the economy has slipped into a downturn."

"The improvement in job creation this month is encouraging, and we hope it continues across all sectors of the U.S. economy," ADP President and CEO Carlos A. Rodriguez said in a prepared statement.

There was other good news on the employment front from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: First-time jobless claims dropped 12,000 to 365,000, the largest decline in a month. That also beat estimates.

Paul J. Gough is the web producer at the Pittsburgh Business Times, and he covers media. Contact him at pgough@bizjournals.com or (412) 208-3827. You can also follow him on Twitter.

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