“Job Market Red Hot”: U.S. Private Sector Created 235,000 Jobs in February

The ADP National Employment Report said the U.S. private sector created 235,000 jobs in February, easily beating the 205,000 median forecast. Digging deeper into the data, the report indicates private sector job creation in higher-wage industries and sectors, as well as small business hiring strength.

“The labor market continues to experience uninterrupted growth,” Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute said. “We see persistent gains across most industries with leisure and hospitality and retail leading the way as consumer spending kicked up. At this pace of job growth employers will soon become hard-pressed to find qualified workers.”

The goods-producing sector added 37,000 jobs during the month of February and that included continued strength in both construction (+21,000) and manufacturing (+14,000). Natural resources and mining added 2,000 jobs, though all three sub-sectors have reversed a negative trend of losses since the more business-friendly Trump Administration.

“The job market is red hot and threatens to overheat,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. “With government spending increases and tax cuts, growth is set to accelerate.”

Small businesses, gauged by those with 49 employees or less, added a solid 68,000 jobs. Medium-sized businesses with 50-499 employees added 97,000 jobs and large businesses with 500 employees or more added 70,000.