Wednesday’s report from the ADP found that private pay benefits were stronger than expected in March, countering fears of a slower labour market and economy.
The company added 155,000 jobs that month and revised upwards to 84,000 in February, a significant increase over the Dow Jones consensus forecast of 120,000, the payroll processing company said.
The surprise is amazed amid concerns that President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariffs could add businesses to their personnel, and thus discourage businesses and consumers from slowing down their activities. Trump is expected to announce the next step in his trade policy at 4pm on Wednesday.
“Despite policy uncertainty and downbeat consumers, the final line is this. The top line numbers in March were good for economies of all sizes and employers, if not necessarily all sectors,” said ADP chief economist Nela Richardson.
Employment was fairly wide, with professionals and business services adding 57,000 workers and financial activity increased by 38,000 as the tax season heated up. Manufacturing has contributed 21,000, while leisure and hospitality have added 17,000.
The service provider was responsible for 132,000 positions. On the downside, trade, transportation and utilities lost 6,000 jobs, while natural resources and mining fell 3,000.
In terms of wages, revenues for those who remain in the position increased 4.6% year-on-year, and employment changers rose 6.5%. The gap between the two coincides with a low hit in the final series in September, suggesting a low level of mobility for workers who want to switch jobs.
Still, the overall figures show the solid labor market. Recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the level of open positions is roughly equal to the currently available workers, reversing the trend that the openings outperformed unemployed by 2-1 years ago.
The ADP report comes ahead of the BLS measurements, which are more closely monitored for non-farm payroll. Unlike ADP including government jobs, the BLS report is expected to show payroll growth of 140,000 in March, a slight decline from 151,000 in February. The two counts can show significant disparities due to different methodologies.
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