Private payrolls increased by 192,000 in April, more than expected for resilient labor market

Private
payrolls
increased
at
a
faster
than
expected
pace
in
April,
indicating
there
are
still
plenty
of
tailwinds
for
the
U.S.
labor
market,
according
to
ADP.

The
payrolls
processing
firm
reported
Wednesday
that
companies
added
192,000
workers
for
the
month,
better
than
the
Dow
Jones
consensus
outlook
for
183,000
though
a
slight
step
down
from
the
upwardly
revised
208,000
in
March.

At
the
same
time,
the
firm’s
wage
measure
showed
worker
pay
up
5%
from
a
year
ago,
a
multiyear
low
that
provided
some
welcome
news
against
multiple
other
signs
showing

inflation
has
proved
more
resilient
than
many
economists
and
policymakers
had
expected.

“Hiring
was
broad-based
in
April,”
ADP
chief
economist
Nela
Richardson
said. “Only
the
information
sector
–
telecommunications,
media,
and
information
technology
–
showed
weakness,
posting
job
losses
and
the
smallest
pace
of
pay
gains
since
August
2021.”

Job
gains
were
strongest
in
leisure
and
hospitality,
which
posted
an
increase
of
56,000.
Other
industries
showing
gains
included
construction
(35,000)
and
sectors
covering
trade,
transportation
and
utilities
as
well
as
education
and
health
services,
both
of
which
saw
increases
of
26,000.

Professional
and
business
services
contributed
22,000
to
the
total
while
financial
activities
added
16,000.

Companies
with
500
or
more
workers
showed
the
biggest
gain
in
hiring
with
98,000.

The
ADP
release
comes
two
days
ahead
of
the
more
closely
watched
nonfarm
payrolls
report.
In
recent
months,
ADP
has
consistently
undershot
the
Labor
Department’s
count,
though
the
numbers
were
fairly
close
in
March.
The
department’s
Bureau
of
Labor
Statistics
reported
that

private
payrolls
increased
by
232,000
for
the
month
versus
ADP’s
208,000.

Friday’s
report
is
expected
to
show
growth
of
204,000
in
total
nonfarm
payrolls
for
April,
down
from

March’s
303,000,
according
to
the
consensus
Dow
Jones
estimate.