Small businesses hire at moderate pace in November, ADP says

Small businesses hired at a moderate pace last month, adding 50,000 jobs, according to payroll provider ADP.

The November job gains at companies with one to 49 employees followed a downwardly revised gain of 67,000 in October and a drop of 28,000 in September — much larger than the 7,000 originally reported as Hurricanes Harvey and Irma forced many companies to close. ADP compiles its reports from its customers' payroll numbers.

ADP also said companies of all sizes added a strong 190,000 jobs in November. Small business hiring has been erratic this year, and has often not kept pace with job gains at larger companies. Small businesses averaged 58,000 new jobs each month for the first 11 months of 2017.

Business owners have remained cautious although the economy continues to thrive. Many owners have turned to automation to keep their labor costs down, and many have said in surveys that they won't hire unless their revenue justifies the added costs.

The Labor Department releases its November employment report on Friday, but will not break out job growth by company size.