Private sector jobs grew by 62,000 in April while annual pay for job-stayers rose 4.5 percent year-over-year, according to data released Wednesday by ADP Research.
The modest employment growth signals caution among employers facing an uncertain economic landscape despite generally positive data, according to ADP’s chief economist.
“Unease is the word of the day. Employers are trying to reconcile policy and consumer uncertainty with a run of mostly positive economic data,” said Dr. Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP. “It can be difficult to make hiring decisions in such an environment.”
April’s jobs figure represents a significant slowdown from March, when private employers added 147,000 jobs according to revised data.
Hiring varies widely across sectors
Education and health services saw the largest decline, shedding 23,000 jobs in April. Information technology lost 8,000 positions, while professional and business services dropped 2,000 jobs.
Several sectors managed moderate gains, with leisure and hospitality adding 27,000 jobs, followed by trade, transportation and utilities with 21,000 new positions. Financial activities added 20,000 jobs, while construction contributed 16,000.
Medium-sized businesses led hiring with 40,000 new jobs, while large establishments with over 500 employees added 12,000 positions. Small businesses contributed 11,000 jobs, though businesses with 20-49 employees cut 9,000 positions.
Regional disparities emerge
The Midwest region showed the strongest growth with 42,000 new jobs, primarily from the East North Central division which added 39,000 positions.
The Northeast gained 10,000 jobs overall, but results varied dramatically within the region. New England lost 33,000 jobs while the Middle Atlantic states added 43,000.
The South region posted minimal growth of just 3,000 jobs, as the West South Central division lost 43,000 positions, offsetting the 54,000 gain in the East South Central area.
The West region added 9,000 jobs, with most coming from the Mountain division.
Worker pay remains steady
Pay increases for employees who stayed in their jobs held steady at 4.5 percent year-over-year in April, showing a slight deceleration from March. Job-changers saw their pay advantage widen, with annual wage growth accelerating from 6.7 percent in March to 6.9 percent in April.
Among industries, financial activities offered the highest pay increases for job-stayers at 5.1 percent. Construction and manufacturing followed with raises of 4.7 percent and 4.6 percent respectively.
Small businesses with fewer than 20 employees provided the smallest wage increases at just 2.8 percent, while medium and large employers offered raises between 4.8 and 4.9 percent.
The ADP National Employment Report analyzes anonymized payroll data from more than 25 million U.S. employees and includes nearly 14.8 million individual pay observations each month.
