Employment in the private sector increased by 156,000 in April, a slower pace of growth than seen last month, when 200,000 jobs were added, according to the ADP National Employment report released Wednesday morning. Employment in the goods-producing sector, which includes construction and manufacturing industries, decreased by 11,000 in April, due to the loss of 13,000 jobs in the manufacturing industry. Construction employment continued to rise however; 14,000 jobs were added in the construction industry in April but a pace 22.22% slower from March’s 18,000, and 41.67% down from February’s 24,000.
“The job market appears to have stumbled in April. Job growth noticeably slowed, with some weakness across most sectors,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. “One month does not make a trend, but this bears close watching as the financial market turmoil earlier in the year may have done some damage to business hiring.”
Total employment in the private sector is down -18.32% compared to April 2015, when 191,000 jobs were gained. The pace of job growth in the construction industry is also down 22.22% from April 2015, when 18,000 jobs were added.
On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release March figures for their Employment Situation report, which is expected to mirror ADP’s results, but typically at lower levels.
The ADP National Employment Report® is a monthly measure of the change in total U.S. nonfarm private employment derived from actual, anonymous payroll data of client companies served by ADP®, a leading provider of human capital management solutions. The report, which measures nearly 24 million U.S. workers, is produced by the ADP Research Institute®, a specialized group within the company that provides insights around employment trends and workforce strategy, in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics, Inc.
