The monthly ADP National Employment Report far exceeded economists’ expectations, showing the addition of 275,000 jobs to private payrolls in April. Prior to the release of the report, economists polled by Dow Jones were predicting the addition of 177,000 private-sector jobs.
“The job market is holding firm, as businesses work hard to fill open positions,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, in a statement. Moody’s produces the report with ADP. “The economic soft patch at the start of the year has not materially impacted hiring. April’s job gains overstate the economy’s strength, but they make the case that expansion continues on.”
Where Jobs Are Growing
“April posted an uptick in growth after the first quarter appeared to signal a moderation following a strong 2018,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute. “The bulk of the overall growth is with service providers, adding the strongest gain in more than two years.”
Job gains for April were led by professional/business services (+59,000 jobs), leisure/hospitality (+53,000 jobs), health care (+46,000 jobs) and trade/transportation/utilities (+37,000 jobs). On the goods-producing side, construction added 49,000 jobs, while manufacturing added 5,000 jobs and mining shed 2,000 jobs.
Medium-sized businesses (50 to 499 employees) added the most jobs last month, hiring 145,000 workers. Small businesses (fewer than 50 employees) added 77,000 jobs and large businesses (500 or more employees) added 53,000 jobs.
MarketWatch predicts that Friday’s report from the Labor Department will show the addition of 210,000 jobs to non-farm payrolls. (Other forecasts, they concede, “are a bit lower.”)
The monthly Employment Situation Summary from the Bureau of Labor Statistics also provides the latest unemployment figures and wage growth data. The PayScale Index, which measures the change in wages for employed U.S. workers, shows that wages grew 0.6 percent year-over-year for Q1 2019. Real wages, however, have declined 9 percent since 2006.
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