The labor market continued to cool in August, with job creation among private employers slowing for the fifth consecutive month and wage growth remaining flat.

So said human resources (HR) and payroll solution provider ADP in the August ADP National Employment Report released Thursday (Sept. 5).

“The job market’s downward drift brought us to slower-than-normal hiring after two years of outsized growth,” ADP Chief Economist Nela Richardson said in the report. “The next indicator to watch is wage growth, which is stabilizing after a dramatic post-pandemic slowdown.”

Private sector employment increased by 99,000 jobs in August, down from the revised total of 111,000 added in July, according to a Thursday press release. July’s total was revised down from the previously reported 122,000.

Among the 10 industry sectors tracked by ADP, seven saw job gains during August. The three sectors that saw declines were professional/business services, manufacturing and information, which lost 16,000, 8,000 and 4,000 jobs, respectively, the release said.

Year-over-year pay gains remained flat in August, with those for job-stayers gauged at 4.8% and those for job-changers at 7.3%, per the release.

A slowdown in the labor market was also reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which said Wednesday (Sept. 4) that the number of job openings declined to 7.67 million in July, down from 7.91 million in June and 8.81 million a year earlier.

The number of job openings in July was the lowest since the start of 2021, signaling slowing demand for workers, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

In another report released Wednesday, the Federal Reserve said in a national summary of its August Beige Book that the number of Federal Reserve districts reporting flat or declining economic activity rose to nine in August, up from five in July.

The Federal Reserve added that employment levels remained steady, but there were isolated reports of firms filling only necessary positions, reducing hours and shifts, or lowering employment levels through attrition.

“Employers were more selective with their hires and less likely to expand their workforces, citing concerns about demand and an uncertain economic outlook,” the Federal Reserve said in the summary.