Alveena Ahmad
The figures: According to the ADP National Economic Report released on Wednesday, private payrolls in the United States increased by 145,000 in March.
The Wall Street Journal’s survey of economists predicted a rise of 210,000 jobs in the private sector.
A revised 261,000 jobs were created in the private sector in January.
Important information: In March, employers in the service industry added 75,000 positions. 98,000 more people were employed in leisure and hospitality. Producers of goods also added 70,000 jobs. 30,000 manufacturing jobs were lost.
In March, small businesses created 101,000 new private-sector employment, while medium-sized businesses created 33,000. 10,000 new positions were added by large firms.
According to ADP, both job movers and job keepers saw a slowdown in pay growth.
Gains over the previous year for job keepers decreased to 6.9% from 7.2%. Pay growth for those who changed jobs fell to 14.2% from 14.4%.
Big picture: Overall, the job market has been solid, with unemployment claims often running below 200,000. Businesses appear to be reluctant to fire employees.
The U.S. Labor Department’s employment report is expected to indicate that the economy added 238,000 jobs in March, according to economists. It includes employment held by the government. About a million jobs could have been added in the first three months of the year if the data is as anticipated.
What ADP said: According to Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, “Our March payroll report is one of several signals that the economy is slowing. Businesses are slowing down after a year of aggressive hiring, and pay growth has plateaued for three months.
Stock market response: Following the release of the data, the DJIA and SPX were expected to open lower. Following the publication of the data, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y, 3.293%, decreased to 3.32%.
