U.S. businesses added 191,000 jobs in March, returning to the level of job growth seen in December before bad winter weather hit the economy, payrolls firm ADP said today.
The February number was revised up by 39,000, to 178,000 jobs.
“The job market is coming out from its deep winter slumber. Job gains are consistent with the pace prior to the brutal winter. The gains are broad-based across industries and business size classes,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, which helps to compile the monthly jobs report.
The payrolls data came ahead of Friday’s March jobs report from the U.S. Labor Department. Analysts on average estimate the U.S. economy added 195,000 jobs last month in both the public and private sectors, after 175,000 in February. The unemployment rate is expected to tick downward to 6.6 percent from 6.7 percent.
