Private sector employment in the United States rose by 63,000 jobs in February, the strongest monthly gain since July of the previous year.
ADP Report Highlights Key Gains
The Automatic Data Processing (ADP) employment report, released on April 4 local time, showed this figure surpassing economists’ expectations of 48,000 new jobs. Gains proved particularly robust in construction, education, and leisure services sectors.
Sector Breakdown
- Construction added 19,000 positions.
- Education and leisure services saw an increase of 58,000 jobs.
- In contrast, professional and business services experienced a decline of 30,000 jobs.
Overall wage growth accelerated to 4.5% year-over-year during the month.
Economist Insights on Job Trends
Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, noted, “Job gains continue alongside solid wage momentum, especially for blue-collar workers still in the workforce.” She added, “However, as employment concentrates in a few sectors, these wage increases have yet to spread more broadly.”
ADP’s private payroll index draws from payroll data covering approximately 25 million employees nationwide, serving as a leading indicator ahead of official government nonfarm payroll figures.
