Hiring spree: US companies added 140,000 jobs in February, shows ADP data

By Jarrell Dillard and Augusta Saraiva

US companies boosted hiring in February at a moderate pace, pointing to a resilient demand for workers across industries.

 

Private payrolls increased by 140,000 last month after a 111,000 gain in January, according to figures published Wednesday by the ADP Research Institute in collaboration with Stanford Digital Economy Lab. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 150,000 increase.

Wage growth picked for people who changed jobs, marking the first acceleration since November 2022. But for workers who stayed in their job, wages advanced at the slowest pace since August 2021.

“Job gains remain solid,” Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, said in a statement. “Pay gains are trending lower but are still above inflation.”

Job creation was broad-based, led by leisure and hospitality, construction and trade and transportation. The gains were also well spread across regions and business sizes.

The government’s monthly employment report due Friday is expected to show a slowdown in hiring and wage growth in February after significant gains in both the previous month. Including government jobs, economists forecast US employers added 200,000 jobs last month.

ADP bases its findings on payroll data covering more than 25 million US private-sector employees.

First Published: Mar 06 2024 | 7:48 PM IST