Private employers added 145,000 jobs in March, following an increase of 242,000 jobs in February, according to the latest ADP National Employment Report.
“Our March payroll data is one of several signals that the economy is slowing,” said Nela Richardson, ADP’s chief economist. “Employers are pulling back from a year of strong hiring and pay growth, after a three-month plateau, is inching down.”
Most of the jobs added in March were in leisure/hospitality (+98,000), followed by notable job growth in trade/transportation/utilities (+56,000), construction (+53,000), and natural resources/mining (+47,000). The most significant decreases were in financial activities (-51,000), professional/business services (-46,000), manufacturing (-30,000).
Reversing February’s trend, employers of small firms (1-49 employees) added the most jobs in March at +101,000, while larger businesses either cut jobs (-42,000 for establishments with 250-499 employees) or scaled back on hiring (+10,000 for establishments with 500+ employees).
Annual pay growth continued to slow in March, decreasing to 6.9% for job stayers and 14.2% for job changers. Pay increases were highest in leisure/hospitality (9.6%) and natural resources/mining (7.3%), but both percentages were down from the previous month. Information (6.3%) and professional/business services (6.4%) again had the lowest pay growth. And pay increases by establishment size ranged from 5.5% (1-19 employees) to 7.2% (50-249 employees).
