U.S. private sector payroll growth fell well short of expectations in July, according to data released Wednesday, raising doubts about the strength of the upcoming federal jobs report, The Hill reported. The ADP National Employment report for July showed a gain of just 330,000 jobs for nonfarm businesses in the private sector, down from 680,000 in June and roughly half of the 650,000 jobs economists expected firms to add last month. “July payroll data reports a marked slowdown from the second quarter pace in jobs growth,” ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said in the report. Data from payroll processor Homebase also showed a 0.4 percent decline in the number of hours worked by small businesses in July. Homebase also found that states that ended federal unemployment benefits early saw employment decline 0.9 percent in July, while states that kept the benefits saw employment increase by 2.3 percent.
