ADP-Moody's says U.S. economy added 455,000 private jobs in March

March 30 (UPI) -- For the second month in a row, the U.S. economy added close to a half-million private-sector jobs during the month of March, ADP and Moody's Analytics said Wednesday in their monthly labor snapshot.

ADP and Moody's said in their private jobs report -- which is separate from the government's official assessment -- that 455,000 private-sector hires were made last month.

The figure slightly beat most economists' expectations of around 450,000 new jobs.

The new hires were similar to the job snapshot from a month ago, when ADP and Moody's also said that 475,000 jobs were added for February.

According to Wednesday's report, large companies with more than 500 employees hired 177,000 workers. Mid-sized businesses hired 188,000 and small businesses 90,000.

"Hiring remains robust but capped by reduced labor supply post-pandemic," ADP Chief Economist Nela Richardson said in a statement. "Last month large companies showed they are well-poised to compete with higher wages and benefit offerings, and posted the strongest reading since the early days of the pandemic recovery."

Most of the private job growth in March was seen in the service sector, the report said.

Wednesday's report came one day after the Labor Department said that 4.4 million U.S. workers quit their jobs in February, and there were 11.3 million job openings.

The Labor Department will release its March jobs report on Friday.