ADP reports fewest new jobs added in six months as labor market cools

US private employers added just 44,000 jobs in July, according to the latest ADP National Employment Report. That’s the weakest monthly gain in six months, and it missed economist expectations of roughly 70,000 by a wide margin. The numbers paint a bleak picture The July figure represents a sharp deceleration from June, which itself was revised downward to 95,000 jobs from an earlier estimate. Recent weekly hiring data from ADP’s NER Pulse updates had already been flashing warning signs, with averages hovering in the mid-tens of thousands. The ADP report, produced in partnership with Stanford’s Digital Economy Lab, serves as a preview of the official Bureau of Labor Statistics nonfarm payrolls data. It dropped around August 5, and it landed like a cold glass of water on anyone still clinging to the “resilient labor market” narrative. To put it in perspective, the US needs to add roughly 100,000 to 150,000 jobs per month just to keep pace with population growth. Coming in at less than half of that floor isn’t a soft patch. It’s a stall. Why crypto traders should care about payroll reports The Federal Reserve watches employment data like a hawk, because its dual mandate requires it t...