Small Businesses Gained 38,000 Jobs Nationally in April, according to ADP Report

Private sector employment increased by 192,000 jobs in April, but jobs decreased in the information sector, according to the April ADP National Employment Report produced by the ADP Research Institute in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab (“Stanford Lab”).

The majority of the job gains were in the South, with a gain of 124,000 jobs.

The average pace of hiring accelerated over the past three months after slowing late in 2023. Small businesses (fewer than 49 employees) gained 38,000 jobs. Companies with 1-19 employees gained 39,000 jobs, whiles companies with 20-49 employees lost 1,000 jobs.

In the Leisure and Hospitality industries, job gains were 56,000.

“Hiring was broad-based in April,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP. “Only the information sector – telecommunications, media, and information technology – showed weakness, posting job losses and the smallest pace of pay gains since August 2021.”

The information sector saw a decrease of 4,000 jobs.

Why are jobs decreasing in the information sector? It’s not just AI. Here are reasons seen nationally.

• Skills Mismatch: As technology changes, the demand for specific skills changes. If professionals don’t update their skills, their job opportunities become fewer. While jobs related to data and AI, engineering, and cloud computing are in high demand, workers who haven’t adapted to the changes in technology aren’t qualified for those jobs.
• AI and Automation: AI is replacing jobs in customer service, telecommunications, and hosting automation.

Pay Insights

Pay gains for job changers slowed in April.

Year-over-year pay gains for job-stayers were little changed in April at 5 percent. Pay growth for job changers fell from 10.1 percent in March to 9.3 percent but remains higher than it was at the beginning of the year.

Highlights of the ADP Report

View the ADP National Employment Report and interactive charts at www.adpemploymentreport.com.

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