WASHINGTON — U.S. businesses added a healthy 195,000 jobs last month, a sign companies are still hiring despite the Trump administration’s trade war with China.
Payroll processor ADP says that hiring occurred broadly among small, medium-sized and large businesses. Health care, restaurants and hotels, and professional services all added jobs at a healthy pace. Manufacturing added 8,000, despite recent signs that factory output is contracting.
Strong hiring, as long as it continues, can fuel solid growth consumer spending, the primary driver of the economy right now. Businesses have cut back on spending and exports have fallen amid the trade war.
The ADP’s figures don’t include government hiring and frequently diverge from the government’s official report, which is scheduled to be released Friday. Economists expect that report will show 160,000 jobs were added.