WASHINGTON -- U.S. companies added nearly 2.4 million jobs in June, according to a private survey, a large gain that still leaves total employment far below its pre-pandemic levels.
The payroll company ADP said Wednesday that small businesses reported the biggest increase, adding 937,000 jobs. Large businesses added 873,000 jobs. Medium-size businesses boosted payrolls by 559,000.
ADP said service-provider employment climbed 1.91 million, while payrolls at goods producers increased 457,000 in June. The leisure and hospitality industry took on 961,000 workers, while construction firms added 394,000. In health care, employment rose by 246,000.
Two of the 10 industry categories recorded declines: natural resources and mining shed 26,000 jobs and information lost 50,000 jobs.
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According to ADP's data, the economy still has 14.3 million fewer jobs than it did in February, before the viral outbreak intensified.
"We've obviously got into a big hole here because of the pandemic and are just trying to claw our way out," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. Moody's helps compile the ADP data for its monthly reports.
ADP's payroll data represents firms employing nearly 26 million workers in the U.S.
Today, the government will release the official jobs figures for June, which are projected to show that employers added 3 million jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 12.3%, down from 13.3% in May. Both those rates are among the highest the U.S. has seen since the Great Depression.
ADP does not include government jobs in its report and often diverges from the Labor Department's data.
The economy remains under pressure from the pandemic, as new spikes of the coronavirus in several southern and western states have forced some to pause their reopenings and impose new closures of bars and other businesses. That could slow hiring in the coming months.
The hiring in June reflects a rebound in economic activity after pandemic-related shutdowns that brought an end to the longest-running expansion earlier this year. While fiscal and monetary stimulus are helping the economy regain its footing, a gradual improvement in demand amid a pickup in coronavirus cases indicates the job market will take time to recover to pre-recession levels.
"As the economy slowly continues to recover, we are seeing a significant rebound in industries that once experienced the greatest job losses," Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-director of the ADP Research Institute, said in a statement. "In fact, 70% of the jobs added this month were in the leisure and hospitality, trade and construction industries."
Information for this article was contributed by Christopher Rugaber of The Associated Press; by Reade Pickert of Bloomberg News; and by Hannah Denham of The Washington Post.