Private sector employment increased by 183,000 jobs from  January to February according to the February ADP National Employment Report®.  Broadly distributed to the public each month, free of charge, the ADP National Employment Report is produced by the ADP Research Institute® in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics.  The report, which is derived from ADP’s actual payroll data, measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

Total U.S. Nonfarm Private Employment: 183,000

By Company Size

– Small businesses: 12,000

  • 1-19 employees     -8,000
  • 20-49 employees      20,000

– Medium businesses:     95,000

  • 50-499 employees     95,000

– Large businesses: 77,000

  • 500-999 employees     22,000
  • 1,000+ employees     54,000

By Sector

– Goods-producing: 44,000

  • Natural resources/mining     3,000
  • Construction     25,000
  • Manufacturing     17,000

– Service-providing: 139,000

  • Trade/transportation/utilities     14,000
  • Information     7,000
  • Financial activities     21,000
  • Professional/business services     49,000
    • Professional/technical services     21,000
    • Management of companies/enterprises     6,000
    • Administrative/support services     22,000
  • Education/health services     37,000
    • Health care/social assistance     39,000
    • Education     -2,000
  • Leisure/hospitality     4,000
  • Other services     8,000

* Sum of components may not equal total, due to rounding.

 Franchise Employment**

  • Franchise jobs     24,500

**Complete details on franchise employment can be found here.

“We saw a modest slowdown in job growth this month,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute.  “Midsized companies have been the strongest performer for the past year.   There was a sharp decline in small business growth as these firms continue to struggle with offering competitive wages and benefits.”

Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, said, “The economy has throttled back and so too has job growth. The job slowdown is clearest in the retail and travel industries, and at smaller companies. Job gains are still strong, but they have likely seen their high watermark for this expansion.”

The matched sample used to develop the ADP National Employment Report was derived from ADP payroll data, which represents 411,000 U.S. clients employing nearly 24 million workers in the U.S.  The January total of jobs added was revised up from 213,000 to 300,000.

In February’s report, the following scheduled annual revisions have been reflected in the estimates of employment shown in the ADP National Employment Report:

  • New regression coefficients and historical job growth estimates based on ADP data and revised payroll data through December 2018 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics;
  • Incorporation of March 2018 industry and size class data from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) in the generation process; and
  • Adjustments of historical job growth estimates consistent with QCEW data through March 2018 and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ annual benchmarking process.