Business

US Private Payroll Growth Accelerated in April Says ADP
By Reuters | 06 May, 2026

Private sector employment rose by 109,000, above the 99,000 forecast by economists and a sizable jump over 61,000 March growth.

U.S. private payrolls increased more than expected in April, the ADP's national employment report showed on Wednesday.

Private employment rose by 109,000 jobs last month after a downwardly revised 61,000 gain in March. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast private employment advancing by 99,000 jobs after a previously reported 62,000 increase in March.

The ADP report is jointly developed with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, and was published ahead of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' more comprehensive and closely watched employment report for April on Friday. ADP has been a poor predictor of the BLS's private payrolls estimate.

The labor market remains in a "low-hire, low-fire" state. Government data on Tuesday showed job openings dropped in March, though hires rebounded to more than a two-year high.

Nonfarm payrolls likely increased by 62,000 jobs in April after rebounding 178,000 in March, a Reuters survey of economists predicted. Private payrolls are forecast to have increased by 75,000 after surging 186,000 in the prior month. The unemployment rate is expected to have held steady at 4.3%.

A Conference Board survey last week showed the share of consumers perceiving employment as "hard to get" dropped in April while the proportion saying jobs were "plentiful" was little changed.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)