Thu, 5 Apr 2012

Private sector employment rose by 209,000 from February to March, according to research from payroll services firm ADP.

Just under half (100,000) of these jobs were added by businesses with fewer than 49 employees, with medium-sized firms (50-499 workers) creating 87,000 jobs, and the remaining 22,000 coming at larger firms.

Most of the roles (164,000) came in the services sector.

Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, who carried out the research for ADP, says: “The March increase in private employment suggests that the national unemployment rate may have declined slightly last month.

“It would also be consistent with other indicators suggesting some firming of labour market conditions, such as the downward trend in unemployment claims and upturns in the components of consumer sentiment and confidence influenced by perceptions about the availability of jobs.”