Less than 100,000! “Small Nonfarm Payrolls” add fewest jobs since 2021

U.S. companies added the fewest number of new jobs last month since the beginning of 2021, further evidence that the labor market is shifting to a slower pace of growth.ADP data showed that private companies added 99,000 jobs in August, after a downward revision to last month's gain. The latest data came in below all expectations.ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said: “After two years of substantial growth, the job market is exercising a slower-than-normal pace of downward hiring. Wage growth is stabilizing after slowing sharply in the wake of the epidemic.” Companies are scaling back hiring in response to high costs and interest rates. The latest data add to evidence of slowing labor demand, and Fed officials say they are now more worried about risks to the labor market than inflation. With price pressures largely receding from the epidemic's peak, markets expect policy makers to begin cutting interest rates this month. A separate report released Thursday showed that hiring plans by U.S. companies fell 41 percent through August compared with the same eight-month period in 2023. Announced layoff plans fell 3.7 percent.