ADP says private payrolls rose 146,000 in November, less than expected.

Private payrolls growth was slower than expected in November, reflecting a sluggish labor market, according to a report from ADP on Wednesday.

Companies added 146,000 in the month, down from a downwardly revised 184,000 in October and below the Dow Jones estimate of 163,000.

Education and health services created employment opportunities, adding 50,000 positions per month. This was followed by construction with 30,000 new jobs, trade, transportation and utilities with an increase of 28,000, and other services, which provided 20,000 jobs.

Manufacturing lost 26,000 positions in the month. Businesses with fewer than 50 employees also reported a decline of 17,000.

Wage growth accelerated to 4.8 percent, the fastest increase since October, the first in 27 months.

“While overall growth remained healthy for the month, industry performance remained mixed,” said ADP Chief Economist Nila Richardson. “Manufacturing was the weakest we’ve seen since spring. Financial services and leisure and hospitality were also soft.”

Even with the lower-than-expected total and the downward revision in October, the ADP count was still well ahead of the Bureau of Labor Services’ more closely watched nonfarm payrolls count, which added just 12,000 in October. Showed job growth. The BLS report will be released Friday and is expected to show a growth of 214,000, according to Dow Jones, after a Boeing strike and storms in the Southeast dampened the October total.