US private sector added 63,000 jobs in February
In February, US private employers added 63,000 jobs—easily beating the predicted 48,000 and marking the strongest hiring since last July.
Pay growth trends
Hiring was led by construction, education, and health services.
But not all sectors are thriving: manufacturing lost 5,000 jobs in February, and professional/business services cut 30,000 positions.
Pay for people staying at their jobs held steady at 4.5% annual growth; for job-hoppers, wage increases cooled to 6.3%.
Overall hiring slowdown
Even with this February boost, overall hiring has slowed way down compared to recent years.
As ADP's chief economist Nela Richardson put it, hiring has been "concentrated in only a few sectors."
These numbers set the stage for Friday's official government jobs report—so stay tuned if you're keeping an eye on where work is headed next.