US businesses add solid 179,000 jobs in July, survey finds

Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that last month's job growth was driven by services companies — ranging from retailers to shipping firms — which added 185,000 positions.

Solid gains occurred in both higher-paying and lower-paying industries, extending a trend of greater hiring at the upper and lower levels of the pay scale, with fewer gains in middle-income jobs.

Financial services firms added 11,000 jobs, and professional and business services, a category which includes upper-income positions such as engineers and architects, as well as low-paying temp jobs, added 59,000.

Economists have forecast that the government's employment report for July, to be released Friday, will show a gain of 175,000 jobs and that the unemployment rate will dip to 4.8 percent from 4.9 percent.