Private-sector employment in the US rose by 99,000 jobs in August, according to the ADP National Employment Report released today. More than half of the increase came from the education/health and construction sectors, up by 29,000 and 27,000 jobs, respectively.

The increase was a decrease from a downwardly revised 111,000 jobs added in July.

US private payrolls added the fewest jobs in August since the start of 2021, Bloomberg reported, adding to evidence that the labor market is shifting into a lower gear. Last month’s jobs gain was also below all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

The report also found year-over-year pay gains stayed flat in August, remaining at 4.8% for job-stayers and 7.3 % for those changing jobs, figures that also represent the slowest pace since 2021, according to Bloomberg.

“The job market’s downward drift brought us to slower-than-normal hiring after two years of outsized growth,” Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, said in a press release. “The next indicator to watch is wage growth, which is stabilizing after a dramatic post-pandemic slowdown.”

Here is the change in private-sector employment by industry sector:

• Goods-producing, up 27,000
  • Natural resources/mining, up 8,000
  • Construction, up 27,000
  • Manufacturing, down 8,000
• Service-providing, up 72,000
  • Trade/transportation/utilities, up 14,000
  • Information, down 4,000
  • Financial activities, up 18,000
  • Professional/business services, down 16,000
  • Education/health services, up 29,000
  • Leisure/hospitality, up 11,000
  • Other services, up 20,000

Looking at job growth by company size, small firms lost 9,000 jobs in August, midsize firms added 68,000 and large firms added 42,000.

By region, the South led by adding 55,000 jobs, followed by the Northeast with an increase of 24,000 jobs. The West added 20,000 jobs, and the Midwest added 7,000.