BURSTPrivate-sector employers cut 33,000 jobs in June, the first monthly decline in more than two years, according to the ADP National Employment Report released Wednesday.
The latest report comes as a surprise to economists who had anticipated a gain of about 100,000 jobs last month.
Service-providing industries led the losses with a net decline of 66,000 jobs in June, including a loss of 56,000 professional and business services jobs and 52,000 in the education and health services industries.
Companies in the service industries, meanwhile, saw gains of 32,000 jobs in leisure and hospitality and of 14,000 added in trade, transportation and utilities.
Goods-producing firms, meanwhile, saw a net gain of 32,000 jobs, including in natural resources and mining, construction and manufacturing.
Broken down by region, the South saw 13,000 jobs added, while the Midwest lost 24,000 jobs, the West lost 20,000 jobs, and the Northeast lost 3,000 jobs.
Small establishments — with fewer than 50 employees — lost 47,000 jobs. Meanwhile, large establishments — with 500 or more employees — saw gains of 30,000 jobs.
Medium-size establishments were split: Businesses with 50 to 249 employees gained 12,000 jobs last month, while businesses with 250 to 499 employees lost 27,000 positions.
The latest ADP report shows annual pay up 4.4 percent year over year in June for people who stayed in their jobs — little changed from the 4.5 percent in May. For those who switched jobs, however, annual pay in June increased 6.8 percent year over year, a slight drop from the 7 percent in May.
“Though layoffs continue to be rare, a hesitancy to hire and a reluctance to replace departing workers led to job losses last month,” ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said in a statement. “Still, the slowdown in hiring has yet to disrupt pay growth.”
The latest report also revised downward the total number of jobs added in May from 37,000 to 29,000.