The numbers: U.S. private payrolls climbed by 145,000 in March, according to the ADP National Economic report released on Wednesday.
Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a gain of 210,000 private sector jobs.
The private sector added a revised 261, 000 jobs in January.
Key details: Service sector providers added 75,000 jobs in March. Leisure and hospitality added 98,000 workers. Meanwhile, goods producers added 70,000 jobs. Manufacturing shed 30,000 jobs.
By company size, small businesses added 101,000 private-sector jobs in March while medium businesses added 33,000. Large-sized businesses added 10,000 jobs.
Pay growth decelerated for both job stayers and job changers, ADP said.
For job stayers, year-over-year gains fell to 6.9% from 7.2%. For job changers, pay growth was 14.2%, down from 14.4%.
Big picture: The job market has been strong, with jobless claims trending below 200,000. Companies seem wary of letting workers go.
Economists are forecasting that the U.S. Labor Department’s employment report will show the economy added 238,000 jobs in March. That estimate includes government jobs. If the data comes in as expected, it could show over one million jobs created in the first three months of the year.
What ADP said: “Our March payroll data is one of several signals that the economy is slowing,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP. “Employers are pulling back from a year of strong hiring and pay growth, after a three-month plateau, is inching down.”
Market reaction: Stocks
DJIA,
SPX,
were set to open lower after the data. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note
TMUBMUSD10Y,
fell to 3.32% after the data was released.
