Hiring perked up in February, but only in a few sectors of the economy, according to ADP. The payroll processor estimates that private employers added 63,000 jobs last month, topping economists' expectations of 48,000 and rebounding from just 11,000 in January, which was revised downward from ADP's earlier estimate of 22,000, CNBC reports. But the gains were heavily concentrated: education and health services alone accounted for 58,000 new positions, with construction adding 19,000. Most other major industries were flat or shrinking.
Professional and business services shed 30,000 jobs, manufacturing lost 5,000, and trade, transportation, and utilities slipped by 1,000. Information services added 11,000 jobs, but there was little change elsewhere. Manufacturing's decline continued despite efforts in Washington to bring factory work back to the US through tariffs and other policies.
- Wages remained solid for people staying put, with pay up 4.5% from a year earlier, the same pace as in January. Workers who changed jobs saw pay gains of 6.3%, down from the prior month and the lowest advantage for switching since ADP began tracking it, suggesting less financial payoff for jumping to a new employer. "With hiring concentrated in only a few sectors, our data shows no widespread pay benefit from changing jobs," says ADP chief economist Nela Richardson.
- ADP's report came out two days before the government's official jobs report for February, which includes public sector employment. The Wall Street Journal reports that ADP's January numbers were a "poor guide" to the Labor Department's report for the month, which found that employers added 130,000 jobs, more than double what economists were expecting.
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