According to the ADP National Employment Report, private sector payrolls added just 62,000 jobs in April. This growth rate is the weakest we’ve recorded since July 2024. This represents a significant deceleration from March’s downwardly revised increase of 147,000 jobs. Originally, March’s jobs increase was reported as 155,000. This major slowdown in hiring underscores just how difficult employers’ circumstances are as they try to move forward through a rapidly changing and uncertain economic landscape.
April’s job growth indicates a cautious approach among businesses, many of which are bracing for potential impacts from President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Increased uncertainty over the status of these tariffs has played a part in dampening hiring plans and overall economic conditions.
The leisure and hospitality sector, as it has been most months, was a strong performer, contributing the biggest gains overall by adding 27,000 jobs in April. The news wasn’t all good, as our biggest sector—education and health services—took a hit, shedding 23,000 jobs. Further, within the information services sector, there was a loss of 8,000 jobs.
Wage growth reflected mixed signals. For workers staying on the same job, pay increases were 4.5% YOY at an annual rate. This number is a modest drop—only 0.1 percentage points—since March. Among job changers, the increase was even above that figure at 6.9%. This increase represents a 0.2 percentage-point improvement over last month’s reading.
Further, given this volatility in job creation and wage gains, the unemployment rate should still hold steady at 4.2%.
Nela Richardson, Chief Economist at ADP, commented on the current employment climate:
“Unease is the word of the day. Employers are trying to reconcile policy and consumer uncertainty with a run of mostly positive economic data.”