Labor data show the economy is slowing, ADP says

April 5 (UPI) -- Private sector employees in March added about 100,000 fewer jobs to their payrolls than they did the prior month, showing the economy is slowing down, payroll processor ADP said Wednesday.

"Our March payroll data is one of several signals that the economy is slowing," said Nela Richardson, the chief economist at ADP. "Employers are pulling back from a year of strong hiring and pay growth, after a three-month plateau, is inching down."

Data show private-sector employment increased by 145,000 last month, lower than the 240,000 in new hires in February. Data from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary, or JOLTS, from Tuesday showed job openings slumped to a two-year low at 9.9 million as of the last full day in February.

By sector, ADP data show manufacturing suffered the most in the industry sector, shedding 30,000 jobs last month. In the services sector, jobs in finance fell by 51,000.

ADP does not provide granular analysis of activity in any particular sector, though a March survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas found that manufacturing activity was mixed, though the general perception was that business conditions were on the decline.

The financial sector buckled last month, meanwhile, after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in California sparked concerns about a global banking crisis.

The Federal Reserve, however, raised interest rates again last month because inflation is still running about three times above its target rate of 2% annually.

"The job market is beginning to find its balance as consumer demand ebbs and the cost of borrowing goes up," ADP's report read.

Compounding the emerging weakness in labor, ADP reported that annual pay increased by 6.9% last month, down from 7.2% in February.

Markets were in the red in early trading Wednesday. The Dow was down 0.6% and the tech-heavy NASDAQ was off by 0.62% as of 9:50 a.m. EDT. The S&P was lower by 0.14%.