US private sector adds 200k jobs in March

The US private sector added 200,000 jobs in March, pretty much in line with expectations, according to data released by private consultancy ADP on Wednesday.

This was down from last’s month 205,000, which was revised lower from an initial estimate of 214,000.

By sector, goods-producing employment rose by 9,000, up from a downwardly-revised 2,000 in February while service-providing employment increased by 191,000, down from 204,000 the previous month.

The construction sector added 17,000 jobs, down from February’s 24,000, while manufacturing added 3,000 jobs after losing 9,000 the month before.

Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, said: “The job market continues on its amazing streak. The March job gain of 200,000 is consistent with average monthly job growth of the past more than four years. The only industry reducing payrolls is energy as has been the case for over a year. All indications are that the job machine will remain in high gear.”

“Overall, although first-quarter GDP growth may not have been quite as strong as we initially believed, the resilience of the labour market suggests that the economy is not in any serious trouble,” said Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics.