The growth of private sector employment in March exceeded expectations, according to the ADP report released on Wednesday. The total job growth for the month reached 62,000, representing a slight decrease of 4,000 from the upwardly revised figure for February. This result also surpassed the Dow Jones consensus forecast, which anticipated an increase of 39,000 jobs.
As seen in the previous month, two primary sectors were responsible for a majority of the job gains. Education and health services contributed 58,000 jobs, maintaining the same level as February, while the construction sector saw an increase of 30,000 jobs. It's worth noting that the previous month experienced a decline in health services job numbers due to a strike at Kaiser Permanente that affected over 30,000 workers in Hawaii and California—a situation that has now been resolved.
Additional sectors that contributed to job growth included information services, which added 16,000 jobs; natural resources and mining, which increased by 11,000; and leisure and hospitality, which gained 7,000 jobs.
In contrast, certain sectors faced job losses, notably trade, transportation, and utilities, which saw a decrease of 58,000 jobs. Manufacturing also reported a decline, with a loss of 11,000 jobs.
March's job creation landscape revealed a relatively balanced distribution, with 30,000 jobs generated in goods-producing industries and 32,000 in service-providing sectors. Small businesses, those employing fewer than 50 individuals, were notably dynamic, adding 85,000 jobs. Meanwhile, medium-sized companies reported a loss of 20,000 jobs, and large firms, defined as those with 500 or more employees, experienced a decline of 4,000 jobs.
Wage growth remained stable, with an increase of 4.5% for employees remaining in their positions. In contrast, workers who changed jobs saw a more substantial gain of 6.6%, reflecting a 0.3 percentage point rise from February.
This ADP report precedes the forthcoming release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which will detail the nonfarm payrolls. The market anticipates an increase of approximately 59,000 jobs, following a reported loss of 92,000 in February. Additionally, the unemployment rate is expected to remain steady at 4.4%.
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