Hiring Among US Employers Slowed in April -- ADP

By Xavier Fontdegloria

U.S. private-sector hiring lost pace in April, in a sign of continued tightening in the country's labor market amid persistent worker shortages.

Employment in the nonfarm private sector increased by 247,000 in April, data from the ADP National Employment Report showed Wednesday. The reading is below the revised 479,000 increase registered in March and misses the 390,000 consensus forecast in a poll by The Wall Street Journal.

"In April, the labor market recovery showed signs of slowing as the economy approaches full employment," said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP. "While hiring demand remains strong, labor supply shortages caused job gains to soften for both goods producers and services providers," she said.

Large businesses, those with at least 500 workers, added 321,000 jobs; while medium-sized businesses, of between 50 and 499 employees, created 46,000 jobs. However, small businesses, between one and 49 employees, shed 120,000 jobs.

"As the labor market tightens, small companies, with fewer than 50 employees, struggle with competition for wages amid increased costs," Ms. Richardson said.

By sector, services providers registered a gain of 202,000 jobs, with leisure and hospitality adding 77,000 jobs. The goods-producing sector created 46,000 jobs, the data showed.

The report, carried out by the ADP Research Institute along with Moody's Analytics, is based on data through the 12th of the month.

The U.S. Department of Labor is expected to release its employment report for April, which covers the same period as the ADP National Employment Report, on Friday. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal are expecting it to show nonfarm payrolls up by 400,000, while the unemployment is seen falling to 3.5%. The ADP series can diverge considerably from the Labor Department's official data.

Write to Xavier Fontdegloria at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 04, 2022 08:45 ET (12:45 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.