US private sector job growth steady in August, ADP says

The US labour market continued to create jobs at a steady pace in August, according to the results of a widely-followed survey.

Consultancy ADP´s gauge of private sector payrolls revealed that 177,000 new posts were created last month.

Economists had penciled in an increase of 175,000.

ADP´s tally for the previous month was also revised higher, from 179,000 to 194,000.

Traders keep a close eye on the results of the ADP survey for clues as to the result of the official monthly non-farm payrolls figures which are published two days afterwards.

Job gains in August were concentrated among small and large-size US companies, according to ADP, with payroll gains at the former clocking in at 63,000 while the latter category saw 70,000 new hires and medium-sized enterprises beefed up their headcount by 44,000.

From a sector standpoint, job gains were concentrated in the service sector, with an increase of 183,000, while goods-producing firms shed 6,000 workers.

"Overall, the details of this morning’s report are consistent with other readings of labor market strength. This Friday, we will get a better view of the August labor market with the release of the nonfarm payroll report by the BLS. We continue to expect a headline number of 200k," Barclays´s Rob Martin said in a research note sent to clients.

As of 1324 BST the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was up by one basis point to 1.57%.