Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg.
Hiring at U.S. companies accelerated last month, rebounding from a weak February marked by severe weather in some regions of the country. In March, private-sector payrolls increased by 155,000, according to ADP Research. That was above all but one estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The gains were driven by professional and business services, financial activities, and manufacturing.
“Despite policy uncertainty and downbeat consumers, the bottom line is this: The March top-line number was a good one for the economy and employers of all sizes, if not necessarily all sectors,” Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, said in a statement.
Recommended For You
The ADP figures add to other data pointing to stable demand for workers, including filings for unemployment benefits and layoff levels that have remained fairly subdued this year. That’s consistent with a labor market that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell described last month as a “low firing, low hiring situation.”
March’s payroll additions in the manufacturing sector were the highest since October 2022 in ADP data, and overall businesses of all sizes created jobs. The Northeast, Midwest, and South regions saw growth, while job numbers declined in the West. The report, published in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, is based on payrolls covering more than 25 million U.S. private-sector employees.
The data also showed wage growth continuing to cool. Workers who changed jobs saw a 6.5 percent pay increase, while those who stayed put saw a 4.6 percent gain. The gap between the two matches a series low.
Policymakers and investors will get a more comprehensive look at the job market when the government releases its March employment report Friday. Economists anticipate that non-farm payroll growth moderated slightly from February but remained healthy at an estimated 140,000. The unemployment rate is seen holding steady at 4.1 percent.
————————————————————
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
