(Bloomberg) -- US companies hired at a strong pace in April, pointing to a robust demand for workers across multiple industries.
Private payrolls increased 192,000 last month after an upward revision to the prior month, according to figures published Wednesday by the ADP Research Institute in collaboration with Stanford Digital Economy Lab. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 183,000 gain.
The back-to-back gain was the largest since the middle of last year. Job gains were strongest in the South.
“Hiring was broad-based in April,” Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, said in a statement. Leisure and hospitality, as well as construction, led payroll growth. The information sector was the only industry that shed jobs.
The labor market has remained more resilient than economists anticipated over the last few months. Despite elevated interest rates, there has been a consistently healthy demand for workers and a low level of unemployment, which have helped fuel consumer spending and keep prices elevated.
Federal Reserve officials are expected to keep interest rates unchanged at a two-decade high at the conclusion of their policy meeting Wednesday. Policymakers have signaled they're unlikely to lower rates anytime soon given the lack of progress on inflation this year.
Wage growth cooled in the ADP data. For people who changed jobs, wages rose 9.3%, down nearly a percentage point from the prior month. Workers who stayed in their job saw a 5% median pay bump, similar to March's growth, according to the report.
A separate measure of labor costs closely watch by the Fed accelerated in the first quarter by more expected, according to a separate report Tuesday, a sign of persistent wage pressures.
The government's monthly employment data due Friday is expected to show a slowdown in hiring after a blowout March report. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey calls for a 240,000 gain in nonfarm payrolls, which would be the slowest pace since November. The figures have topped forecasts in recent months.
ADP bases its findings on payroll data covering more than 25 million US private-sector employees.
--With assistance from Chris Middleton and Vince Golle.
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