U.S. employment up 180K jobs in February, ADP says

Private-sector employment is up by about 180,000 jobs this month, according to Roseland-based ADP.

The payroll and human services company said in its monthly ADP National Employment Report that the number of jobs grew by 183,000 positions between January and February.

“We saw a modest slowdown in job growth this month,” Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute, said. “Midsized companies have been the strongest performer for the past year. There was a sharp decline in small business growth as these firms continue to struggle with offering competitive wages and benefits.”

Medium-sized businesses with 50 to 499 employees dominated the month, adding 95,000 new jobs. Large-sized businesses with 500 or more employees added 77,000 new roles, while small-sized businesses with fewer than 49 employees added 12,000.

“The economy has throttled back and so too has job growth. The job slowdown is clearest in the retail and travel industries, and at smaller companies. Job gains are still strong, but they have likely seen their high watermark for this expansion, Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, said.

In the Top 10 sectors, according to ADP, those in the service-producing industry were on top, adding 139,000 jobs compared with 44,000 in the goods-producing industry.

Under the service-producing sector, professional and business services added the most positions, reporting 49,000 new roles; education and health services added 37,000; financial activities added 21,000; trade/transportation/utilities added 14,000; information added 7,000; leisure and hospitality added 4,000; and other services added 8,000.

Under the goods-producing sector, construction brought in the most jobs, reporting 25,000 new roles, while manufacturing added 17,000 and natural resources and mining added 3,000.