U.S. private-sector employers added the fewest workers in three years in April, with signs of weak hiring activity across most sectors, according to a report Wednesday by a payrolls processor. The ADP employment report showed U.S. companies hired only 156,000 people last month, the smallest gain since April 2013. Economists had forecast a gain of 196,000 jobs. Private-sector payroll gains in March were revised down to 194,000 from an originally reported 200,000 increase. Small businesses showed the largest gains in April, with employers having fewer than 50 workers adding 93,000 employees. Medium-sized firms with between 50 and 499 workers expanded their payrolls by 39,000, and large companies added only 24,000. Among industries, manufacturers cut payrolls by 13,000, while professional-services companies added 27,000, the fewest since October. The financial-services industry added only 4,000 new positions, the weakest growth since early 2014. "The job market appears to have stumbled in April. Job growth noticeably slowed, with some weakness across most sectors," said Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody's Analytics, which prepares the ADP report. "One month does not make a trend, but this bears close watching as the financial-market turmoil earlier in the year may have done some damage to business hiring." Despite the significant slowdown in April hiring, Zandi said he does not believe underlying U.S. job growth has changed from its recent trend. Other labor-market indicators, including weekly jobless claims, are not consistent with a slowdown in job creation, he said. The ADP figures come ahead of the U.S. government's more comprehensive payrolls report Friday. Economists forecast that 202,000 jobs were created last month, and the unemployment rate remained steady at 5.0 percent.
