With HR administrations preparing for the summer hiring season, economists had estimated March was going to be a strong month for the staffing industry. However, new data shows firms are bringing on new employees, just not as much as previously hoped.
According to the March National Employee Report by Automatic Data Processing (ADP) and Moody's Analytics, the private sector saw 158,000 new workers added to the payroll. The monthly study reviews ADP's payroll analytics and analyzes the total nonfarm private employment changes on a seasonally-adjusted basis. Service providers had the strongest rise in hiring, with trade/transportation/utilities adding around 22,000 positions and 39,000 in professional/business services.
The figure had been adjusted from previous reports depicting March had an increase of 198,000 jobs.
Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics, believes the perceived slowing of the hiring industry throughout March shows the economy is still stabilizing.
"Job growth moderated in March. Construction employment gains paused as the rebuilding surge in the wake of Superstorm Sandy ended," Zandi remarked. "Anticipation of Health Care Reform may also be weighing on employment at companies with close to 50 employees. The job market continues to improve, but in fits and starts."
