ADP Private Sector Jobs Report Missed Expectations, But Tracks With Data Indexes

The ADP National Employment Report found the U.S. private sector added 212,000 jobs last month, fewer than economists expected, the payrolls processor said Wednesday.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the ADP National Employment Report — which is jointly developed by ADP and Moody’s Analytics — to show a gain of 220,000 jobs.

Businesses with 49 or fewer employees added 94,000 jobs in February, down slightly from 97,000 in January, while companies with 50-499 employees added 63,000 jobs, down from 106,000 the previous month. The larger trend on small business is disturbing, as businesses shuttering their doors continue to outnumber new startups.

Employment at large companies – those with 500 or more employees – increased from January adding 56,000 jobs, up from 47,000. Meanwhile, large businesses, or companies with 500-999 employees added 18,000 jobs, up from January’s 16,000. Companies with over 1,000 employees added 38,000 jobs, up from 30,000 the previous month.

Though service-providing employment rose by 181,000 jobs in February, which is down from 206,000 in January, the low-paying sector continues to far outpace sectors historically responsible for broad wage growth.

The construction industry added 31,000 jobs, the same number as last month, while manufacturing added just 3,000 jobs in February, well below January’s 15,000. The manufacturing numbers, in particularly, are both disturbing yet unsurprising.

The latest Chicago Business Barometer of Midwest manufacturing activity fell to its lowest level since 2009, as Production New Orders and Employment gauges all took double-digit losses. The pace of U.S. manufacturing growth nationwide fell in February to its slowest in 13 months, according to the closely-watched industry report from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) released Monday.

The ADP private sector report is released ahead of the U.S. Labor Department’s non-farm payrolls report on Friday, which includes both public and private-sector employment.

Economists polled by Reuters are looking for total U.S. employment to have grown by 240,000 jobs in February, down from 257,000 in January. The unemployment rate, on the other hand, is expected to have ticked lower to 5.6 percent from January’s 5.7 percent.