U.S. businesses in total added jobs at a modest pace last month,
but factories laid off workers, according to a survey of hiring
released Wednesday.
Private-sector payrolls in the U.S. increased by 175,000
positions in January, said the national employment report compiled
by payroll processor Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) and
forecasting firm Moody's Analytics.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expected ADP to
report a January increase of 189,000 jobs. The December ADP
employment increase was revised down to 227,000 from 238,000
reported a month ago.
"Cold and stormy winter weather continued to weigh on the job
numbers. Underlying job growth, abstracting from the weather,
remains sturdy," the report said.
The ADP estimate is released ahead of the Bureau of Labor
Statistics' employment situation report scheduled for Friday.
Economists expect the BLS report will show a job gain of 189,000
in January. Forecasters also expect December jobless rate to slip
to 6.6%, from December's 6.7%.
The ADP report suggests Friday's number will be close to the
gain expected.
According to ADP, firms employing between 1-49 workers hired
75,000 new workers last month. Medium-sized businesses with
payrolls of 50-499 workers increased payrolls by 66,000 employees.
Large firms, businesses with 500 or more employees, hired just
34,000 more workers.
Service-sector payrolls increased by 160,000 slots last month,
but the factory sector cut 12,000 positions. Construction payrolls
increased by 25,000 slots.
ADP, Roseland, N.J., offers payroll processing, human resource
and benefit administration services to about 600,000 clients
worldwide. Economics firm Moody's Analytics is a subsidiary of
Moody's Corporation.
Write to Kathleen Madigan at kathleen.madigan@wsj.com
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