payroll processor ADP said Wednesday, far below June's gain of 4.3 million and May's increase of 3.3 million. July's limited hiring means the economy still has 13 million fewer jobs than it did in February, according to ADP, before the viral outbreak intensified.
ADP’s figures suggest that the job market's recovery is stalling and will likely fuel concerns that the government’s jobs report, to be released Friday, will show a similar slowdown.
Economists expect the government to report that employers added 1.8 million jobs, according to a survey by data provider FactSet.
That would typically be considered a huge gain, but in this case it would be somewhat disappointing after hiring reached 4.8 million in June, and 2.7 million in May.