Private firms added 184,000 jobs to payrolls in March, ADP says

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Private companies added 184,000 jobs and increased annual pay by 5.1% year over year in March, according to the latest data from HR, payroll, and talent management firm ADP.

March was the strongest month of hiring since July, thanks in large part to gains in the leisure and hospitality sector, according to ADP. In fact, there were gains in all but one industry: professional services. Goods-producing companies, such as construction contractors and manufacturers, added 42,000 jobs in March. Service-producing firms, including transportation and health services companies, added 142,000 roles.

“March was surprising not just for the pay gains, but the sectors that recorded them. The three biggest increases for job-changers were in construction, financial services, and manufacturing,” Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, said in a news release. “Inflation has been cooling, but our data shows pay is heating up in both goods and services.”

ADP published its payroll numbers ahead of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly jobs report, which came out Friday morning. Economists had predicted 215,000 new public and private jobs in March, but the BLS blew past that, reporting 303,000 new jobs last month.