Information Sector Loses 4,000 Jobs While Overall Employment Grows

Nine out of 10 industry sectors monitored by ADP posted job gains in April.

The sole exception was the information sector, which lost 4,000 jobs during the month, the human resources (HR) and payroll solution provider said in a Wednesday (May 1) press release detailing its latest ADP National Employment Report.

“Hiring was broad-based in April,” Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, said in the release. “Only the information sector — telecommunications, media and information technology — showed weakness, posting job losses and the smallest pace of pay gains since August 2021.”

Overall, private sector employment increased by 192,000 jobs in April, according to the release. That was lower than the 208,000 jobs added in March — a figure that was revised upward from the previously reported 184,000.

The April total exceeded economists’ expectations, Reuters reported Wednesday. Economists polled by the media outlet had forecast a gain of 175,000 jobs for the month.

April’s job gains were led by the leisure/hospitality sector, which added 56,000 jobs, the ADP release said. Other sectors making five-digit gains included construction (35,000), trade/transportation/utilities (26,000), education/health services (26,000), professional/business services (22,000) and financial activities (16,000).

Also adding jobs in April were manufacturing (9,000), natural resources/mining (3,000) and other services (3,000), per the release.

“The average pace of hiring has accelerated over the last three months after slowing late last year, almost matching gains made in the first half of 2023,” the release said. “Pay growth continues to slow.”

Annual pay for job-stayers grew by 5.0% year-over-year in April, little changed from the previous month, while that for job-changers increased by 9.3%, slower than the 10.1% reported in March, according to the release.

This news comes a day after the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported year-over-year wage growth of 4.8% for private industry employees and 4.9% for state and local government workers.

The BLS also reported a quarterly increase of 1.2%, which surpassed projections by economists surveyed by both Bloomberg News and Reuters.

The BLS will issue its employment report for April on Friday (May 3). Economists surveyed by Reuters expect that report to show an increase of 190,000 jobs on private payrolls.