US: ADP - Private sector employment increased by 129K in March vs 170K expected

"Private sector employment increased by 129,000 jobs from February to March," the ADP announced in its latest employment report. This reading fell short of the market expectation of 170K and came in below the previous reading of 197K (revised from 183K). Below are some key quotes from the official press release.

Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute:

• March posted the slowest employment increase in 18 months.
• Although some service sectors showed continued strength, we saw weakness in the goods producing sector.

Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics:

• The job market is weakening, with employment gains slowing significantly across most industries and company sizes.
• Businesses are hiring cautiously as the economy is struggling with fading fiscal stimulus, the trade uncertainty, and the lagged impact of Fed tightening.
• If employment growth weakens much further, unemployment will begin to rise.