The number of American private sector jobs has steadily increased in March, according to Wednesday’s ADP national employment report.
Private employment increased by 62,000 jobs last month, after a revision upwards of 66,000 jobs in February. Economists surveyed by Reuters had expected private employment to increase by 40,000 jobs after a rise of 63,000 in February.
The ADP report is developed in conjunction with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab and was released before the more comprehensive and closely watched Bureau of Labor Statistics employment report for March, which will be published on Friday. ADP is a poor predictor of BLS’s private payroll estimate.
According to a Reuters survey of economists, nonfarm payrolls are likely to have increased by 60,000 after declining by 92,000 in February due to the end of a healthcare worker strike and rising temperatures.
Private sector jobs are expected to have increased by 70,000 after dropping by 86,000 the previous month. The unemployment rate is expected to remain steady at 4.4%.
