US ADP Report: March ADP pose concerns over strength in U.S. economy and manufacturing

Today ADP employment numbers were released from the US for the month of March.

ADP number shows the US labor markets remains strong despite recent weakness.

There are two things to note in the headline that,

• ADP report indicates that the economy might be losing steam and close monitoring needed as data suggests further weakness.
   
• February payroll saw a revision, where the headline was revised up to 197,000 (from 183,000).

Key highlights –

• Non-farm private sector employment grew at 129,000 in February, the median expectation was for 170,000.
• The small business sector added 6,000 jobs, compared to 12,000 gain last month.
• Mid-sized companies added 63,000 jobs compared to last month’s 95,000 jobs.
• The large sector added just 60,000 compared to last month’s 77,000 jobs.
• Manufacturing sector payroll registered 2,000 jobs loss compared to 17,000 jobs gain last month. This is the first decline during Trump Presidency.
• 6,000 jobs were lost in the goods-producing sector, compared to last month’s 44,000 jobs gain.
• The construction sector lost 6,000 jobs, compared to last month’s 25,000 jobs gain.
• Services sector remains the main job provider as payrolls added 135,000 people in March. February gain was 139,000.

The USD declined on the release. The dollar index is currently trading at 97.08, down 0.24 percent for the day so far.