WASHINGTON- US private employers maintained a brisk pace of hiring in March, in a boost to the labor market recovery, but growth in corporate profits slowed significantly in the fourth quarter amid increasing costs.
Private payrolls rose by 455,000 jobs last month after advancing 486,000 in February, the ADP National Employment Report showed on Wednesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast private payrolls would increase by 450,000 jobs.
Medium-sized and large companies accounted for 80 percent of the private jobs created last month.
Manufacturers added 54,000 jobs, while the leisure and hospitality sector hired 161,000 more workers. There were also sizeable gains in professional and business services payrolls as well as healthcare and education. Trade, transportation and utilities companies also boosted hiring, but construction hiring slowed for a third straight month.
Demand for workers is being boosted by the rolling back of COVID-19 restrictions across the country amid a massive decline in coronavirus cases. There is no sign that Russia’s more than one-month long war against Ukraine has hurt the labor market. — Reuters
