Employment in the U.S. private sector saw continued growth in the month of March, according to a report released by payroll processor Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) on Wednesday, with the job growth coming roughly in line with economist estimates.
ADP said employment increased by 209,000 jobs in March following an upwardly revised increase of 230,000 jobs in February. Economists had expected an increase of about 208,000 jobs compared to the addition of 216,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
In addition to the upward revision to the job growth numbers for February, the report showed that the increase in jobs in January was upwardly revised to 182,000 from 173,000.
The continued job growth was largely due to further increases in the service-providing sector, which added 164,000 jobs in March compared to the addition of 183,000 jobs in February.
Employment in the goods-producing sector also rose by 45,000 jobs in March following an increase of 47,000 jobs in the previous month.
The report also showed that small and medium-size businesses added 100,000 jobs and 87,000 jobs, respectively, while large businesses added a more modest 22,000 jobs.
ADP noted that the construction industry added 13,000 jobs in March, marking the sixth consecutive month of job growth in the sector.
Paul Ashworth, Chief U.S. Economist at Capital Economics, said, "After allowing for another modest dip in public sector employment, there is nothing in this ADP report to change our view that the official non-farm payroll figures will show a 200,000 increase."
Friday morning, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its monthly employment report, which includes both private and public sector jobs.
While the report is expected to show the addition of at least 200,000 jobs for the fourth month in a row in March, the unemployment rate is expected to remain elevated at 8.3 percent.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.