Private payrolls grew by 146,000 in November, less than expected, ADP says

Private payrolls growth was less than expected in November, reflecting a slowing labor market, according to a report Wednesday from ADP.

Companies added 146,000 jobs on the month, below the downwardly revised 184,000 in October and less than the Dow Jones estimate for 163,000.

Education and health services led job creation, adding 50,000 positions on the month. That was followed by construction with 30,000 new jobs, trade, transportation and utilities with 28,000 additions, and the other services category, which contributed 20,000 jobs.

Manufacturing lost 26,000 positions on the month. Businesses with fewer than 50 employees also reported a drop of 17,000.

Wage growth accelerated, by 4.8%, a faster gain than October, the first time that has happened in 25 months.

“While overall growth for the month was healthy, industry performance was mixed,” ADP’s chief economist, Nela Richardson, said. “Manufacturing was the weakest we’ve seen since spring. Financial services and leisure and hospitality were also soft.”

Even with the lower-than-expected total and downward October revision, ADP’s count was still well ahead of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ more closely watched nonfarm payrolls count, which showed an increase of just 12,000 jobs in October.

The BLS report is scheduled to be released Friday and is expected to show growth of 214,000, according to Dow Jones, after the Boeing strike and storms in the Southeast lowered the October total.

Correction: Wage growth accelerated, by 4.8%, a faster gain than October, the first time that has happened in 25 months. An earlier version misstated the number of months. This story was also updated to correct the name of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.