U.S. businesses went on a hiring spree in February, the latest data from payroll processor ADP shows.
Private sector employers added 63,000 workers, a big rebound from the mere 11,000 in ADP’s revised January estimate. Economists had forecast 43,000 jobs added in the month.
This was the strongest hiring in the private sector in seven months, according to ADP’s data.
“We’ve seen an increase in hiring and pay gains remain solid, especially for job-stayers,” said ADP chief economist Nela Richardson.
Annual pay is up 4.5 percent for workers who have stayed in their jobs. The biggest pay gains for job stayers came in finance, where pay is up 5.2 percent, and manufacturing, where wages are up 4.9 percent. Construction workers saw a 4.7 percent gain and leisure and hospitality a 4.6 percent increase. The slowest pay gains were in information technology, where pay is up four percent.
Workers who have switched jobs have seen their pay rise 6.3 percent.
The job gains were uneven, as employers struggled to hire in a slowly growing workforce. Healthcare and education added 58,000 jobs, construction added 19,000, and information added 11,000. There were smaller rises in the payrolls for the finance, leisure and hospitality, natural resources, and “other services.” Manufacturing employment fell, as did trade, transportation, and utilities. The biggest decline was in business and professional services, a highly cyclical sector, which shed 30,000 workers.
Analysts expect that the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ offical jobs report, due Friday, will show an increase of 50,000 jobs for February. In recent months, the official jobs report has shown that the federal government’s payrolls have been contracting while the private sector’s have been growing. Overall payroll growth has slowed, in part due to retirements and a stricter immigration policies.