U.S. businesses revved up their hiring in April as the economy
shrugs off the drags imposed by a harsh winter, according to a
survey of hiring released Wednesday.
Private-sector payrolls in the U.S. increased by 220,000 new
jobs in April, said the national employment report compiled by
payroll processor Automatic Data Processing Inc. and forecasting
firm Moody's Analytics.
Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected ADP to
report a smaller April advance of 210,000. The March ADP employment
increase was revised to 209,000 from 191,000 reported a month
ago.
"The job market is gaining strength. After a tough winter
employers are expanding payrolls across nearly all industries and
company sizes," the report said.
The ADP estimate arrives ahead of the Bureau of Labor
Statistics' employment situation report scheduled for Friday.
Economists expect the BLS will report that nonfarm payrolls
increased 215,000 in April. That figure is better than the 192,000
jobs added in March and is also the strongest forecast number since
mid-2010 when temporary U.S. Census hiring boosted job totals.
The April unemployment rate is expected to fall back to 6.6%
from 6.7% in March.
Wednesday's ADP number probably won't cause many forecasters to
change their nonfarm payroll estimates.
The ADP estimate falls between two other private-source
forecasts issued ahead of the BLS report.
On Tuesday, Dun & Bradstreet estimated that 208,000 jobs
were added in April, led by hiring in retail and manufacturing.
On Wednesday, TrimTabs Investment Research said it estimated
242,000 jobs were added in April. The strong estimate is based on
analysis of daily income tax deposits to the U.S. Treasury from the
paychecks of the 137 million U.S. workers subject to
withholding.
According to ADP, firms employing between 1-49 workers hired
82,000 new workers this month. Medium-size businesses with payrolls
of 50-499 workers increased payrolls by 81,000 employees. Large
firms, businesses with 500 or more employees, hired 57,000 more
workers.
Service-sector payrolls increased by 197,000 workers in April.
The factory sector, however, added just 1,000 positions.
Construction payrolls increased by 19,000 slots.
ADP, of Roseland, N.J., offers payroll processing, human
resource and benefit administration services to about 620,000
clients world-wide. Economics firm Moody's Analytics is a
subsidiary of Moody's Corporation.
Write to Kathleen Madigan at kathleen.madigan@wsj.com
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