Data for February was revised higher to show 261,000 jobs added instead of 242,000 as previously reported.
The labor market is slowing as higher borrowing costs dampen demand in the economy. The government reported on Tuesday that there were 9.9 million job openings at the end of February. Still, there were 1.7 job openings for every unemployed worker in February, attesting to the labor market's tightness. The ADP report, jointly developed with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, was published ahead of the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics' more comprehensive and closely watched employment report for March on Friday. It has not been a reliable gauge in forecasting private payrolls in the BLS employment report.
According to a Reuters survey of economists, private
payrolls likely increased by 215,000 jobs in March. With gains
expected in government employment, total nonfarm payrolls are
forecast to have risen by 240,000 jobs last month after
increasing 311,000 in February.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)