Employment data highlighted this morning’s trading session as ADP and Moody’s Analytics reported that private payrolls added 163,000–less than the expected 190,000 and the Labor Department reported unemployment filings fell to a 49-year low.
The mixed data still reveals a strong job market amid a backdrop of the extended bull run in the capital markets despite private payrolls missing its expectations. Companies added 163,000 jobs in August, which represents a tangible slowdown versus the 217,000 added in the previous month and below the average of 206,000 a month.
Additionally, the month of August revealed a steep decline in hiring by small businesses, but in spite of this, the labor market continues to thrive.
“Although we saw a small slowdown in job growth the market remains incredibly dynamic,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute.
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Claims for state unemployment benefits dropped by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 203,000 for the week ending Sept. 1, which represents its lowest level since December 1969. A Reuters poll of economists forecasted unemployment claims to hit 214,000, while the four-week moving average of unemployment claims fell by 2,750 last week to 209,500, which is also the lowest level since December 1969.
“The job market is hot,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics.”Employers are aggressively competing to hold onto their existing workers and to find new ones. Small businesses are struggling the most in this competition, as they increasingly can’t fill open positions.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were little changed–down 30 points and 14 points respectively as of 11:00 a.m. ET. The tech sell-off in the Nasdaq Composite, however, continued as it slid 1% due to declines in Micron Technology as well as tech giants like Amazon and Apple.
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