The U.S. economy experienced a boost in April, according to today’s ADP National Employment Report, which reported that the private sector increased by 220,000 jobs this year. The total nonfarm employment growth is “well above the twelve-month average,” says president and CEO of ADP Carlos Rodriguez in a press release. April’s increase is up from the revised March figure of 209,000 jobs—initially reported as 191,000—and February’s 193,000—initially underestimated at 139,000.
“April’s number is representative of underlying monthly job growth,” says Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, the financial services company that partners with ADP to produce the monthly report. Zandi says that upcoming employment reports should be consistently over 200,000 total jobs “into the foreseeable future.”
The construction industry added 19,000 jobs to the private sector, an average of the previous two months: 21,000 in March and 17,000 in February. Zandi predicts that the construction industry in particular will add growth later this year and into 2015, because the housing market is experiencing a decrease in supply.
Zandi pointed out that the report, which is derived from ADP’s actual payroll data, indicates that job growth is broad-based across all industries with the exception of manufacturing—which only added 1,000 jobs this month. This is down from March and February’s revised numbers of 4,000 and 5,000, respectively. But at least the industry is in the positive—the year began with a loss of 11,000 manufacturing jobs in January.
The professional and business services sector, a broad category that most likely includes architects and engineers, has grown consistently over the last three months. The sector added 77,000 jobs in April, following 67,000 in March and 57,000 in February.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report is scheduled for release on Friday morning, providing more detailed information about the economic state of the construction and architecture fields.
Charts: Maggie Goldstone; Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
