Hiring at US companies accelerated last month, rebounding from a weak February marked by severe weather in some regions of the country.
Private-sector payrolls increased by 155,000 in March, according to ADP Research. That was above all but one estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The gains were driven by professional and business services, financial activities and manufacturing.
“Despite policy uncertainty and downbeat consumers, the bottom line is this: The March topline number was a good one for the economy and employers of all sizes, if not necessarily all sectors,” Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, said in a statement.
The ADP figures add to other data pointing to stable demand for workers, including filings for unemployment benefits and layoff levels that have remained fairly subdued this year. That’s consistent with a labor market that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell described as a “low firing, low hiring situation” last month.
The ADP report, published in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, showed wage growth cooled. Workers who changed jobs saw a 6.5% pay increase, while those who stayed put saw a 4.6% gain. The gap between the two matches a series low.
Businesses of all sizes added jobs last month. The Northeast, Midwest and South regions saw growth in payrolls, while they declined in the West. ADP bases its findings on payrolls covering over 25 million US private-sector employees.
Policymakers and investors will get a more comprehensive look at the job market when the government releases its March employment report Friday. Economists anticipate that nonfarm payroll growth moderated slightly from February, but remained healthy at an estimated 140,000. The unemployment rate is seen holding steady at 4.1%.
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