ADP National Employment Report: Private Sector Employment Increased by 155,000 Jobs in March; Annual Pay was Up 4.6%

Rhea-AI Summary

ADP's March 2025 National Employment Report shows private sector employment increased by 155,000 jobs, with annual pay rising 4.6% year-over-year. The report highlights significant sector-specific changes, with manufacturing adding 21,000 jobs and financial activities gaining 38,000 positions.

By establishment size, large companies (500+ employees) led job creation with 59,000 new positions, followed by small establishments adding 52,000 jobs, and medium-sized businesses contributing 43,000 jobs. Regional data showed strong growth in the Northeast (89,000) and Midwest (81,000), while the West experienced a decline (-41,000).

Pay insights revealed job-changers earned a premium of 1.9 percentage points over job-stayers, with their wages increasing by 6.5% compared to 4.6% for those who remained in their positions. The February jobs number was revised upward from 77,000 to 84,000.

Positive

• Private sector added 155,000 jobs, nearly double February's revised 84,000
• Manufacturing sector showed strong performance with 21,000 new jobs
• Financial activities sector added 38,000 jobs
• Professional/business services sector led job creation with 57,000 new positions
• Consistent job growth across all establishment sizes

Negative

• West region lost 41,000 jobs
• Trade/transportation/utilities sector lost 6,000 jobs
• Natural resources/mining sector declined by 3,000 jobs
• Pay growth slowed, with job-changers' premium matching series low
• Small business (1-19 employees) wage growth notably low at 2.9%

ROSELAND, N.J., April 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Private sector employment increased by 155,000 jobs in March and annual pay was up 4.6 percent year-over-year, according to the March ADP^® National Employment Report™ produced by ADP Research in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab ("Stanford Lab"). The ADP National Employment Report is an independent measure and high-frequency view of the private-sector labor market based on actual, anonymized payroll data of more than 25 million U.S. employees.

The jobs report and pay insights use ADP's fine-grained anonymized and aggregated payroll data to provide a representative picture of the private-sector labor market. The report details the current month's total private employment change, and weekly job data from the previous month. Because the underlying ADP payroll databases are continuously updated, the report provides a high-frequency, near real-time measure of U.S. employment. This measure reflects the number of employees on ADP client payrolls (Payroll Employment) to provide a richer understanding of the labor market. As of January 2025, ADP's Pay Insights measure captures nearly 14.8 million individual pay change observations each month, up from nearly 10 million when it launched.

"Despite policy uncertainty and downbeat consumers, the bottom line is this: The March topline number was a good one for the economy and employers of all sizes, if not necessarily all sectors," said Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP.

March 2025 Report Highlights*

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

JOBS REPORT

Private employers added 155,000 jobs in March
Manufacturing delivered stronger-than-average job gains for the second straight month. Construction hiring slowed. Natural resources and trade, transportation, and utilities lost jobs.

Change in U.S. Private Employment:     155,000

Change by Industry Sector

- Goods-producing:     24,000

• Natural resources/mining     -3,000
• Construction     6,000
• Manufacturing     21,000

- Service-providing:     132,000

• Trade/transportation/utilities     -6,000
• Information     3,000
• Financial activities     38,000
• Professional/business services     57,000
• Education/health services     12,000
• Leisure/hospitality     17,000
• Other services     11,000

Change by U.S. Regions

- Northeast:     89,000

• New England     57,000
• Middle Atlantic     32,000

- Midwest:     81,000

• East North Central     76,000
• West North Central     5,000

- South:     27,000

• South Atlantic     7,000
• East South Central     24,000
• West South Central     -4,000

- West:     -41,000

• Mountain     -12,000
• Pacific     -29,000

Change by Establishment Size

- Small establishments:     52,000

• 1-19 employees     42,000
• 20-49 employees     10,000

- Medium establishments:     43,000

• 50-249 employees     34,000
• 250-499 employees     9,000

- Large establishments:     59,000

• 500+ employees     59,000

PAY INSIGHTS

Pay gains slowed in March
Year-over-year pay gains slowed to 4.6 percent for job-stayers and to 6.5 percent for job-changers. The pay premium for job-changers was 1.9 percentage points, matching a series low last seen in September.

Median Change in Annual Pay (ADP matched person sample)

- Job-Stayers     4.6% 
- Job-Changers     6.5%

Median Change in Annual Pay for Job-Stayers by Industry Sector
- Goods-producing:                                                       

• Natural resources/mining     4.3%
• Construction     4.7%
• Manufacturing     4.8%

- Service-providing:                                               

• Trade/transportation/utilities     4.3%
• Information     4.0%
• Financial activities     5.3%
• Professional/business services     4.4%
• Education/health services     4.7%
• Leisure/hospitality     4.7%
• Other services     4.4%

Median Change in Annual Pay for Job-Stayers by Firm Size
- Small firms:                                                                

• 1-19 employees     2.9%
• 20-49 employees     4.2%

- Medium firms:                                                             

• 50-249 employees     4.8%
• 250-499 employees     5.0%

- Large firms:                                                                

• 500+     employees 4.9%

To see Pay Insights by U.S. State, Gender, and Age for Job-Stayers, visit here.

* Sum of components may not equal total due to rounding.

The February total number of jobs added was revised from 77,000 to 84,000. The historical data file and weekly data for the previous month are available at https://adpemploymentreport.com/.

To subscribe to monthly email alerts or obtain additional information about the ADP National Employment Report, including employment and pay data, interactive charts, methodology, and a calendar of release dates, please visit https://adpemploymentreport.com/.    

The April 2025 ADP National Employment Report will be released at 8:15 a.m. ET on April 30, 2025.

About the ADP® National Employment Report™
The ADP National Employment Report is an independent measure of the change in U.S. private employment and pay derived from actual, anonymized payroll data of client companies served by ADP, a leading provider of human capital management solutions. The report is produced by ADP Research in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab.

The ADP National Employment Report is broadly distributed to the public each month, free of charge, as part of the company's commitment to offering deeper insights of the U.S. labor market and providing businesses and governments with a source of credible and valuable information.

About the ADP Research
The mission of ADP Research is to make the future of work more productive through data-driven discovery. Companies, workers, and policymakers rely on our finely tuned data and unique perspective to make informed decisions that impact workplaces around the world.

About ADP (NASDAQ – ADP)
Designing better ways to work through cutting-edge products, premium services and exceptional experiences that enable people to reach their full potential.  HR, Talent, Time Management, Benefits and Payroll. Informed by data and designed for people. Learn more at ADP.com

ADP, the ADP logo, and Always Designing for People, ADP National Employment Report, ADP Research Institute and ADP Research are trademarks of ADP, Inc. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

Copyright © 2025 ADP, Inc. All rights reserved.

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SOURCE ADP, Inc.

FAQ

How many private sector jobs were added according to ADP's March 2025 report?

ADP reported an increase of 155,000 private sector jobs in March 2025.

What was the annual pay increase for job-stayers in March 2025 according to ADP?

Job-stayers saw an annual pay increase of 4.6% in March 2025.

Which regions showed the strongest and weakest job growth in ADP's March report?

The Northeast showed strongest growth with 89,000 jobs, while the West declined by 41,000 jobs.

How did different business sizes perform in ADP's March 2025 employment report?

Large businesses (500+ employees) added 59,000 jobs, small establishments added 52,000, and medium-sized businesses added 43,000 jobs.

What was the pay premium for job-changers versus job-stayers in ADP's March report?

Job-changers earned a premium of 1.9 percentage points, with wages increasing 6.5% compared to 4.6% for job-stayers.