When it comes to the job market, how hot is too hot?
American employers may be about to find out. The monthly ADP National Employment Report was released this morning and showed the addition of 235,000 jobs to private payrolls in February. That’s 35,000 more jobs than predicted by economists and a sign of a market that continues to tighten.
“The job market is red hot and threatens to overheat. With government spending increases and tax cuts, growth is set to accelerate,” said Mark Zandi in a statement. Zandi is chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, which produces the report with ADP.
“At this pace of job growth employers will soon become hard-pressed to find qualified workers,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute.
Where Jobs Are Growing
Several industries added jobs last month.
On the goods-producing side, construction added 21,000 jobs, while manufacturing added 14,000 jobs. Mining grew by 2,000 jobs.
The service-providing sector tallied 198,000 jobs added, with gains centered in leisure/hospitality (+50,000), professional/business services (+46,000), trade/transportation/utilities (+44,000), healthcare/social assistance (+38,000), financial activities (+9,000) and education (+5,000).
Job gains were spread across business sizes. Medium-sized businesses (50-499 employees) added 97,000 jobs, while large businesses (500-plus employees) added 70,000 jobs and small businesses (fewer than 50 employees) added 68,000.
Friday’s report from the Labor Department, which includes information on the unemployment rate and wage growth, is expected to show the addition of 200,000 jobs to public and private, non-farm payrolls, per CNBC.
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