MNI BRIEF: ADP Shows Stronger-Than-Expected US Hiring In March

Stronger than expected U.S. private sector hiring in March marks "a real distinction" between downbeat sentiment surveys and hard data, ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said Wednesday, after the payrolls service provider reported an estimated 155,000 private-sector jobs added in March. 

Service-providing firms added 132,000 jobs last month but hiring was uneven across sectors. On the goods producing side, manufacturing saw a second straight month of strong hiring, adding 21,000 workers, while notable weakness in construction may reflect both a structural shortage of workers and uncertainty among builders, Richardson said. 

Pay gains slowed for both job stayers and job switchers, to 4.6% and 6.5%, respectively. The premium for job changers was 1.9 pp, the lowest since September. "There is less and less incentive for workers to quit their jobs," Richardson said. (See: MNI INTERVIEW: Inflation Expectations Worrisome For Fed- UMich)