Private sector hiring totaled 62,000 in March, better than expected, ADP says

Summary

• ADP March private payrolls: 62,000, above estimates of 39,000; February revised up to 66,000.
• Job growth balanced between goods (30,000) and services (32,000); small businesses surged by 85,000 jobs, while medium and large businesses were negative.
• Industry breakdown: Education and Health Services lead job creation; construction up 30,000; health, leisure, hospitality up 7,000; manufacturing and trade/transportation down.
• Wage growth: 4.5% for job stayers, 3.0% for job changers.
• Nela Richardson notes health care is transforming the labor market, accounting for three out of every four jobs created in the past two years based on state-level tax data.
• Health care jobs are often low-paying, part-time positions like home health care aides, which may not fully support consumer spending due to lack of full benefits.
• Health care is projected to become the largest sector in the US within the next ten years, driven by demographic shifts and demand for aging in place.
• Small business strength could be due to catching up in hiring, workers seeking part-time employment, or effects from tariffs and AI; underlying causes remain uncertain.
• Uncertainties from rising oil prices and AI investments could affect hiring plans, with potential impacts on inflation and goods transportation.
• Fed officials are more sanguine about the job market, not seeing significant weakness, contrasting earlier concerns.