Private sector jobs gain misses expectations

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Private-sector employers added jobs for a fifth straight month in June, a report released Wednesday showed, but the gain was much smaller than expected.

Automatic Data Processing, which processes paychecks for one in every six U.S. employees, said private-sector employers added 13,000 jobs to their payrolls in June, following an upwardly revised 57,000 increase in May.

June's gain missed the 61,000 jump economists surveyed by Briefing.com had been expecting.

Increases have averaged 34,000 over the past five months, according to ADP.

Employers in the goods-producing sector cut 17,000 jobs in June, while jobs in the financial services sector, which have declined for three consecutive years, dropped by 10,000 in June.

Construction jobs fell by 35,000 in June. While that's the smallest decrease since July 2008, construction jobs have declined for three years in a row and 2,226,000 jobs have been lost since January 2007.

ADP said the service-providing sector added 30,000 jobs in June, while employers in the manufacturing sector expanded payrolls by 16,000, the fifth straight month of increases.

Small businesses suffered the most cuts in June. Companies with 500 or more workers added 3,000 jobs and medium-sized businesses with between 50 and 449 workers increased payrolls by 11,000. But small businesses, defined as having fewer than 50 employees, saw employment fall by 1,000 during the month.

The ADP report sets the stage for the closely watched jobs report to be released Friday by the government. Economists forecast that employers cut payrolls by 100,000 jobs in June after adding 431,000 jobs in May.