The construction sector added employment while education and health services took over jobs as overall employment has cooled down since March.
Median wages for employees who remained at work increased 4.5% from the previous year, a slight decline from 4.6% in March, while workers who switched employers increased by 6.7% to 6.9%.
“Anxiety is the word of the day,” said Nera Richardson, ADP chief economist. “Employers are trying to adjust policy and consumer uncertainty by implementing mostly positive economic data. It is difficult to make employment decisions in such an environment.”
The ADP report found that the commodity production industry has added 26,000 jobs. Construction led by 16,000, followed by natural resources and 6,000 mining. Manufacturing salaries exceeded 4,000.
The services provider added 34,000 positions. Leisure and hospitality increased by 27,000, while trade, transportation and utilities increased by 21,000. Education and health services trimmed 23,000 jobs, information fell 8,000, and professionals and business services slipped 2,000.
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In the region, the Midwest recorded its greatest profits with 42,000 jobs. The northeastern region has added 10,000, 9,000 west and 3,000 south.
The medium-sized company, with between 50 and 499 employees, hired 40,000 workers. Large employers added 12,000 people, while small businesses increased their salaries by 11,000. Among very small companies with fewer than 20 employees, payroll has increased by 20,000, while companies with 20-49 workers have reduced by 9,000.
Wage growth was almost stable. Financial activity workers who remained in roles received the strongest increase with a median of 5.1%. The annual profit was 4.7% in construction, education, health services, leisure and hospitality. Employees in the smallest companies recorded the slowest growth at 2.8%.
For comparison, annual wage growth for employers averaged around 3.2% over the five years leading up to 2020. This indicates that pay pressure remains higher than pre-pandemic norms, even if it is easier from the peak seen in 2022.
Economists view ADP data as directional indicators rather than accurate forecasts for government payroll calculations, but the slowdown in April is consistent with softer jobs and reduced employment plans in recent manufacturing surveys. However, private payroll growth is above the monthly average of around 50,000 recorded in the decade prior to the pandemic.
ADP has revised March’s payroll diagram 8,000 times. The report preceded the Labor Bureau’s April employment data on Friday, bringing a more broad look at both private and public sector employment.
The ADP and Stanford Digital Economy Lab are based on monthly reports on anonymized pay records covering more than 25 million US workers.
