Private payrolls expanded at a slower rate than expected in June, according to employer data published Wednesday by private payroll processing firm ADP.

After private-sector hiring beat forecasts in May, the slowdown in June continues a trend of slow job creation amid uneven though resilient labor market conditions.

Private employers added 98,000 jobs in June compared to 122,000 in May and 105,000 in April. Economists polled by Dow Jones had forecast 110,000 job additions, while economists surveyed by Reuters projected 118,000.

“We know it’s taking people longer to find work, but there also are signs of labor supply constraints in certain industries,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP. “For now, the overall effect is a slowdown in job creation.”

Despite there being almost 4% more job vacancies available in May compared to a year ago, according to government estimates, the number of private hires in May shrank 3.5% as the pace of hiring slowed annually from 3.7% to 3.5%.

“The pace of hiring is telling a story of both supply and demand,” added Richardson.

U.S. workers have felt that slowdown.

The Conference Board reported this week that the share of consumers who said a job was “hard to get” in the research group’s monthly consumer confidence survey for June reached 22.5%, its highest level since January 2021.

Moreover, fewer consumers than in May believe that more jobs will be available by the end of the year.

At approximately 48,000, nearly half of the 98,000 private-sector jobs added in June were concentrated in the education and health services sector, with another 15,000 added across trade, transportation and utilities firms and 14,000 added across financial activities.

Across all industries that ADP tracks, only the natural resources and mining sector saw shrinking payrolls, with a loss of 5,000 in June.

Ahead of typically busy summer months for vacations, travel and tourism, however, private employers in the leisure and hospitality sector only added 2,000 jobs — flashing a signal of how employers view underlying consumer demand amid high gas prices and resurgent inflation.