US private employers brought on 98,000 jobs in June, payroll processor ADP said Wednesday, missing expectations. <\/p>\n
Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted a gain of 120,000 positions, roughly on par with May’s increase<\/a>. <\/p>\n About half of June’s growth was concentrated in education and health services, according to ADP data<\/a>, while the financial activities sector gained 14,000 positions. <\/p>\n “The pace of hiring is telling a story of both supply and demand,” ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said in a statement. “We know it’s taking people longer to find work, but there also are signs of labor supply constraints in certain industries. For now, the overall effect is a slowdown in job creation.” <\/p>\n In a call on Wednesday, Richardson noted that payroll growth in education and health services is also slowing a bit, a trend that “will affect overall job creation” if it continues, since other industries “are not picking up the slack for a decelerating healthcare sector.” <\/p>\n The federal government’s employment situation report, due to be published Thursday, is expected to show a gain of 115,000 positions \u2014 a moderation from May’s blowout jobs report<\/a> but still well above the “breakeven rate,” or the number of jobs the economy needs to avoid rising unemployment. <\/p>\n Other data released this week offered some additional green shoots: layoff announcements fell in June,<\/a> and job openings for the previous month came in stronger than economists had predicted<\/a>. Still, hiring remains weak. <\/p>\n Emma Ockerman<\/a> is a reporter covering the economy and labor for Yahoo Finance. You can reach her at emma.ockerman@yahooinc.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n Sign up for the Mind Your Money newsletter<\/a> <\/p>\n