Job creation slowed again in June as small businesses shed 23,000 jobs

July 3 (UPI) -- Job growth failed to live up to expectations in June with private companies adding just 102,000 new positions -- 33,000 short of projections, ADP and Moody's Analytics said.

Small businesses with less than 50 employees shed 23,000 jobs in June, the report said. Midsize companies added 60,000, while large companies added 65,000 jobs. Construction and the goods-producing sectors lost a combined 33,000 jobs. The energy and mining sector lost 4,000 jobs.

On the plus side, manufacturing gained 7,000 jobs while the service providing sector added 117,000. The trade, transportation and utilities sector added 23,000 jobs. Last month, the Labor Department reported 75,000 new jobs created during the month of May when analysts had predicted 180,000.

"The economy's growth rate is significantly slowing, and I think the risks are rising that it's going to stall out," Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi told CNBC. "I think the economy is on the razor's edge, and this number is consistent with that view.

The ADP and Moody's Analytics report is a preview before the official Labor Department report comes out Friday.

The National Employment Report is a monthly measure of the change in total U.S. non-farm private employment derived from payroll data by client companies served by ADP.

"Job growth has slowed sharply in recent months, as businesses have turned more cautious in their hiring. Small businesses are the most nervous, especially in the construction sector and at bricks-and-mortar retailers," Zandi said in a statement.

Despite the slowdown in hiring, there remains 1.6 million more jobs than workers counted among the unemployed. And the unemployment rate remains at the lowest level in 50 years.

The Federal Reserve could cut interest rates later this month.