US private sector employment growth slowed sharply in February, with ADP reporting an increase of just 77k jobs, far below market expectations of 140k.
The breakdown showed that goods-producing sectors contributed 42k jobs, while service-providing sectors added only 36k. By company size, small businesses shed -12k jobs, while medium-sized firms led hiring with a 46k gain, followed by large businesses with a 37k increase.
Wage growth showed little change, with job-changers seeing annual pay gains slow slightly from 6.8% to 6.7%, while job-stayers remained steady at 4.7%.
ADP’s chief economist Nela Richardson attributed the hiring slowdown to “policy uncertainty and a slowdown in consumer spending,” which may have prompted layoffs or cautious hiring.
