March jobs up 241,000, survey says
Low jobless rate going lower, payroll firm findings hint
WASHINGTON — U.S. companies hired 241,000 new workers in March, a private survey found, a solid total that suggests the already-low unemployment rate may be headed lower in the coming months.
Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that the gains were strong across different industries, with construction, manufacturing and professional services such as accounting showing healthy hiring increases.
The figures come two days before the government releases its monthly employment figures. Economists forecast that Friday’s official report will show employers added 185,000 jobs, a smaller but still solid figure, according to a survey by data provider FactSet.
ADP said small business hiring slowed in March, a sign that company owners are holding on to their cautious approach to expanding their staffs.
ADP counted 47,000 new jobs at its small-business customers. The companies had added 66,000 customers in February and 64,000 in January.
Small-business hiring has ebbed and flowed in recent years, picking up momentum for several months at a time and then slowing. Owners have said in recent surveys they won’t take on more employees unless their revenue justifies the expense and risk. But many also report they’re having a hard time finding candidates to fill their open positions; that’s another like-
ly factor in last month’s tally. ADP compiles hiring data from millions of companies that are clients of its payroll services. Its figures frequently diverge from the government’s report. Last month, the government said 313,000 jobs were added, much higher than ADP’s initial estimate of 235,000. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, which prepares the ADP report, cautioned that the actual job count in the government’s report Friday may be lower than ADP’s because the government’s figures are more sensitive to weather. Several Northeastern cities were hit with snowstorms last month, which may have restrained hiring in construction and other industries. Still, the figures suggest that the recent run of healthy job gains may have continued into March. Employers nationwide have added an average of 242,000 jobs a month in the past three months. Hiring at that pace indicates that businesses anticipate robust consumer and business spending. Surveys taken by banks and small-business groups don’t show a consensus about owners’ plans to hire in the next 12 months. In some surveys, a third of owners say
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