US companies added 2.37 million jobs in June, fewer than economists expected, ADP says

• US private payrolls increased by 2.37 million in June as states reopened from coronavirus lockdowns earlier in the year, according to a Wednesday report by ADP.
• ADP also revised its May report from a loss of 2.76 million payrolls to a gain of 3.07 million payrolls in the month.
• Economists expected the ADP report to show 2.85 million jobs added.
• The biggest additions came in leisure and hospitality, construction, and trade and transportation.

US companies brought workers back in June as states continued forward with their reopening plans.

ADP's employment report released Wednesday showed that US private payrolls grew by 2.37 million in June, less than the 2.8 million that economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected.

In addition, ADP revised its May numbers to show that US companies added 3.07 million jobs during the month, where the report had previously said private payrolls declined by 2.76 million. ADP did not immediately explain the stark swing between the two months data.

"Small business hiring picked up in the month of June," said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute, in a statement. "As the economy slowly continues to recover, we are seeing a significant rebound in industries that once experienced the greatest job losses."

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Small businesses, with fewer than 50 employees, added 937,000 jobs in June — more than medium businesses, which added 559,000, and large businesses, which gained 873,000.

In June, hiring was especially strong in leisure and hospitality, which added 916,000 jobs during the month. Trade and transportation gained 288,000 payrolls, and construction also added 394,000 jobs during June. These three industries accounted for about 70% of all jobs added in the month, said Yildirmaz.

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The goods sector overall saw an increase of 457,000 jobs added during June, while services added 1.912 million payrolls. Still, job gains weren't universal — natural resources and mining, information, and management of companies and enterprises industries shed jobs in June, according to the report.

ADP's report is published monthly in collaboration with Moody's Analytics. The private payroll data is a precursor to the June jobs report, scheduled to be released Thursday.

The same day, weekly jobless claims numbers are expected to show that millions more Americans filed for unemployment as coronavirus layoffs persist.

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