Private United States companies added 38,000 jobs in August, below expectations and marking the slowest monthly gain since January, according to payrolls processor ADP.
The increase followed an upwardly revised gain of 46,000 jobs in July and fell short of market expectations of 47,000.
Job growth was concentrated in three sectors, with education and health services adding 45,000 positions, followed by leisure and hospitality with 16,000 and construction with 12,000.
Several industries recorded employment declines. Manufacturing shed 17,000 jobs, while professional and business services lost 16,000.
Natural resources and mining, as well as trade, transportation and utilities, each declined by 5,000.
Most of the job gains came from large companies, with firms employing 500 or more workers adding 34,000 positions.
Companies with fewer than 50 employees added 3,000 jobs.
Pay growth remained steady in August. For workers who stayed in their jobs, base pay rose 3.0% year-on-year, unchanged from July, while gross pay, which includes tips, commissions, bonuses and other earnings, increased 4.4%.
Across all workers, base pay rose 3.2% and gross pay increased 4.7%.
The ADP report comes ahead of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' nonfarm payrolls report on Friday (Saturday AEST).
Economists expect the official data to show 58,000 jobs were added in August, following a 23,000 decline in July, while the unemployment rate is forecast to remain at 4.1%.
