Private Sector Adds 62,000 Jobs in April, ADP Reports; Pay Growth Remains Steady

Private sector employment in the U.S. grew by 62,000 jobs in April, while annual pay increased by 4.5 percent, according to the April 2025 ADP National Employment Report. The report, released by ADP Research Institute in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, offers an independent, high-frequency view of private-sector labor market trends based on payroll data from over 25 million U.S. employees.

“Unease is the word of the day. Employers are trying to reconcile policy and consumer uncertainty with a run of mostly positive economic data,” said Dr. Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP. “It can be difficult to make hiring decisions in such an environment.”

Sector Breakdown

April’s job gains were driven primarily by the goods-producing sector, which added 26,000 jobs. Construction led the segment with 16,000 new jobs, followed by natural resources and mining with 6,000 and manufacturing with 4,000.

The service-providing sector posted a gain of 34,000 jobs. Trade, transportation, and utilities added 21,000 positions; financial activities gained 20,000; and leisure and hospitality added 27,000 jobs. However, some service sectors saw losses, including information (-8,000), professional and business services (-2,000), education and health services (-23,000), and other services (-1,000).

Regional and Establishment Trends

Regionally, the Midwest saw the largest employment increase with 42,000 jobs, including 39,000 in the East North Central division. The Northeast gained 10,000 jobs, driven by a 43,000-job increase in the Middle Atlantic, offset by a 33,000-job decline in New England. The South added 3,000 jobs, with East South Central gaining 54,000 but West South Central losing 43,000. The West recorded a 9,000-job increase, with 8,000 in the Mountain region and 1,000 in the Pacific.

By company size, medium establishments (50-499 employees) added 40,000 jobs, small establishments (1-49 employees) added 11,000, and large establishments (500+ employees) added 12,000. Within small businesses, those with fewer than 20 employees added 20,000 jobs, while those with 20-49 employees lost 9,000.

Pay Insights

Annual pay for job-stayers rose 4.5 percent year-over-year in April, slightly down from March’s pace. Job-changers saw a slight increase in annual pay gains, rising from 6.7 percent in March to 6.9 percent in April.

By sector, job-stayers in the goods-producing industries experienced pay increases of 4.4 percent in natural resources/mining, 4.7 percent in construction, and 4.6 percent in manufacturing. In the service-providing industries, gains included 4.3 percent in trade/transportation/utilities, 4.1 percent in information, 5.1 percent in financial activities, 4.3 percent in professional/business services, 4.7 percent in education/health services, 4.7 percent in leisure/hospitality, and 4.3 percent in other services.

Pay growth by firm size varied, with small firms showing the lowest increases. Job-stayers at firms with 1–19 employees saw a 2.8 percent rise, while those at firms with 20–49 employees had a 4.2 percent increase. At medium and large firms, pay grew by 4.8 to 4.9 percent.

The March jobs total was revised down from 155,000 to 147,000.

This article, "Private Sector Adds 62,000 Jobs in April, ADP Reports; Pay Growth Remains Steady" was first published on Small Business Trends

View the full article