WASHINGTON — U.S. private-sector employment increased by 30,000 jobs in July, according to government data released Friday, underscoring a weak hiring environment as overall payrolls declined and recent employment gains were sharply revised lower.
The increase in private employment reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics followed a revised gain of 30,000 in June. The three-month average increase stood at 40,000 jobs in July, down from 138,000 in May, according to the agency.
Total nonfarm payroll employment fell by 23,000 in July, while the unemployment rate edged down to 4.1% from 4.2% in June. The decline in overall payrolls was driven in part by a 53,000 reduction in government employment, including a 50,000 drop in local government education.
Private-sector hiring was concentrated in a handful of industries. Construction added 22,000 jobs and manufacturing gained 5,000, while professional and business services increased by 18,000. Health care and social assistance added 23,000 jobs, although that was below its average monthly increase of about 36,000 over the previous year.
Other industries weakened. Retail employment fell by about 19,000, financial activities lost 14,000 and leisure and hospitality declined by 40,000, according to the BLS. Employment was little changed in several other major industries, including wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, information, and mining.
The BLS also revised May payroll growth down to 63,000 from 129,000 and June growth to 20,000 from 57,000. The revisions reduced combined employment gains for those two months by 103,000 from previously reported levels.
A separate private-sector measure from payroll processor ADP showed a similarly subdued picture. ADP reported that private employers added 44,000 jobs in July, down from a revised 95,000 in June. Its data showed service-sector employment rising by 47,000 while goods-producing employment fell by 3,000.
ADP Chief Economist Nela Richardson said hiring patterns were changing as employers responded to shifting economic conditions. The report, based on anonymized payroll data covering more than 26 million private-sector employees, is an independent measure and is not intended to forecast the BLS payroll report.
For private workers, average hourly earnings rose 3.2% over the year to $37.62 in July, while the average workweek remained unchanged at 34.3 hours, the BLS said. The next official employment report, covering August, is scheduled for Sept. 4.
