US private sector 'adds 91,000 jobs'

The US private sector added 91,000 jobs in August, fewer than expected, according to a report from private payrolls firm ADP released Wednesday. Net job creation slowed from the revised 109,000 non-farm payrolls added in July, the seasonally adjusted ADP data showed. The initial July estimate was an increase of 114,000 jobs.The worse-than-expected August reading on private-sector employment -- analysts had penciled in 100,000 -- came ahead of Friday's keenly anticipated government data on job creation and unemployment. The average estimate for the Labor Department's August data is that overall job creation fell to 73,000, from 117,000 in July, with private payrolls easing to 110,000 from 154,000. The unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 9.1 percent. The ADP monthly report showed a sharp decline in employment in the massive service-providing sector, which accounts for the bulk of the US economy: jobs rose 80,000 in August, slowing from month-to-month increases that averaged 115,000 over the prior two months. In the struggling manufacturing sector, employers shed 4,000 jobs. "This month's jobs figures show modest job creation," ADP chief executive Gary Butler said in a statement."Small businesses continued to add the most jobs -- more than half of the total of 91,000 -- with positive growth for the 21st straight month, and an average of 71,000 jobs a month for the past year."Slower job growth was seen in the professional business services, education and healthcare sectors, ADP said.