After somewhat surprsingly surging to its highest levels since Dec 2014 in March (4 sigma beat), April ADP tumbled to 177k (and March was revised lower from 263k to 255k). This is the lowest growth in jobs since October 2016 - pre-Trump - with service-producing jobs gaining dramaticaly more than goods-producing (165k vs 12k).
The collapse in both ISM's Manufacturing and Services Employment sub-indices suggested notable downside for jobs in April and sure enough the ADP print corrected and was revised lower...
Medium-sized companies (50-499 employees) added the most jobs (78 of the 177k) and large businesses the least (38 of the 177k).
Some comments from the report authors:
“In April we saw a moderate slowdown from the strong pace of hiring in the first quarter,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute. “Despite a dip in job creation, the growth is more than strong enough to accommodate the growing population as the labor market nears full employment. Looking across company sizes, midsized businesses showed persistent growth for the past six months.”
Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics said, “Job growth slowed in April due to a pullback in construction and retail jobs. The softness in construction is continued payback from outsized growth during the mild winter. Brick-and-mortar retailers cut jobs in response to withering competition from online merchants.”
The data charted:
Change in Nonfarm Private Employment
Change in Total Nonfarm Private Employment
Change in Total Nonfarm Private Employment by Company Size
Change in private employment by Selected Industry
And the always entertaining ADP infographic
ADP National Employment Report: Private Sector Employment Increased by 177,000 Jobs in April
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