Hiring activity was stronger than expected in the US private sector last month, according to payroll processor ADP’s latest employment estimates.
Employers added 192,000 jobs in April, down from March’s job gains, (which were upwardly revised by 24,000 to 208,000 jobs) according to ADP’s national employment report released Wednesday. However, economists were anticipating a net gain of 175,000 jobs, according to FactSet consensus estimates.
The job growth was broad-based, ADP noted. All large industries recorded gains, except for the tech-laden information sector, which lost an estimated 4,000 jobs.
While job growth has accelerated to start the year, wage gains are showing a continued moderation, according to the report.
Annual pay was up 5%, a slight deceleration from March’s 5.1% increase. The pay bumps for job changers dropped to 9.3% from 10.1% but remain higher than where they started the year.
The ADP report is an independent measure of employment trends and is developed using anonymized and aggregated payroll data from its clients.
While ADP’s tabulations don’t always correlate with the official federal jobs report — which is due out Friday — it’s sometimes viewed as a proxy for overall hiring activity.
