U.S. private sector adds only 374,000 jobs in August amid Delta surge

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- Private companies in the United States added 374,000 jobs in August, fewer than expected, indicating a slowing labor market recovery amid a Delta variant-fueled COVID-19 surge, payroll data company Automatic Data Processing (ADP) reported Wednesday.

The latest data "has highlighted a downshift in the labor market recovery," said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP. "We have se