Private employers added jobs at the fastest clip since the first month of President Donald Trump’s second term in January 2025, according to figures published Wednesday by payroll processing firm ADP.

Gains were concentrated across the health care sector, which has consistently outperformed in hiring amid the steady labor slowdown dating back to early 2024. The company noted a monthly improvement in both manufacturing and trade and transportation and utilities hiring, after those sectors combined for nearly 70,000 job losses in March.

The ADP National Employment Report published Wednesday offers a second monthly snapshot of private-sector hiring since the outbreak of war with Iran on Feb. 28.

Overall, private payrolls grew by 109,000 jobs in April, building on the 61,000 positions added in March as employers remain resilient amid renewed inflation concerns.

Economists polled by Dow Jones had predicted 84,000 private payroll additions, according to CNBC.

Education and health services providers added 61,000 jobs last month, while trade, transportation and utilities service providers added 25,000 jobs and construction firms added 10,000. Manufacturers added 2,000 positions after shedding 11,000 in March. ADP reported only 9,000 total private payroll jobs lost.

“Small and large employers are hiring, but we’re seeing softness in the middle,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, in a statement accompanying the April survey findings. Ample resources of larger firms and the agility of smaller companies are “both important advantages in a complex labor environment,” she added.

Evolving business outlooks

While inflation and economic growth outlooks have eroded business sentiment over the past two months, consumer sentiment has remained brighter than expected in April, some closely studied surveys indicate. Economists warn, however, that the economic toll of the ongoing Middle East conflict is likely in its early stages, with progressive impacts projected.

In his final Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) press conference as chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell said a week ago that the cost impact of the global energy and trade shocks stemming from the crisis “hasn’t even peaked yet.”

All FOMC members supported keeping the federal funds rate at its current range of 3.5% to 3.75% except Fed Governor Stephen Miran, who voted to lower rates by 0.25%. But three policymakers advocated for striking an “easing bias” from the post-meeting statement that outlines their consensus decision and outlook.

Meanwhile, a core measure of the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge that excludes food and energy costs rose 3.2% over the year ending in March. That was the same pace as February — notably above the central bank’s stated 2% target — representing what Powell called a “relatively high rate” that “largely reflects the effects of tariffs on prices in the goods sector.”

Trump’s signature tariff policies, first launched more than a year ago, have also been widely cited as reinforcing a broader slowdown in job creation that predated his second term but worsened during 2025. The Supreme Court ruled in February that many of Trump’s tariffs implemented last year were imposed illegally, calling the president’s attempt to circumvent Congress’ tax and tariff authorities unconstitutional.

But as U.S. businesses last year nevertheless absorbed the higher import costs and navigated uncertainty linked to shifting trade conditions, the annual total for job gains in 2025 plummeted to 181,000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported in February, down from 2.2 million in 2024 and around 3 million in 2023.

Resilience among employers

The multiyear slowdown in job creation reflects broader trends linked to sector-specific overhiring following pandemic-era business closures, as well as a range of technological innovations, including generative and agentic artificial intelligence. Economists say these trends raise long-term questions about the relationship between labor supply and demand.

Trump administration immigration policies have effectively shut off the supply of new workers to the U.S., keeping the nationwide unemployment rate steady in the low-4% range as declining labor supply and labor force participation rates have matched declining labor demand from employers.

Unemployment eased to 4.3% in March, according to BLS figures, down from 4.4% the previous month and a six-month peak of 4.6% in November. The BLS is scheduled to publish its monthly jobs report for April on Friday.

Other Fed officials have warned that the steady, low unemployment rate is fragile to economic shocks. But expanding economic fallout from the Iran war and the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz has thus far failed to shift employers from the “low hire, low fire” trend of recent quarters.

Small firms carried their hiring momentum through April, reported ADP, as private employers with fewer than 20 employees added 43,000 jobs gains in April to 112,000 gains in March. Firms with between 20 and 50 employees reversed a decline of 27,000 jobs in March with 22,000 additions in April.

The largest employers with more than 500 workers contributed 42,000 job additions in April after shedding 4,000 in the first month of the war. Companies with between 50 and 250 employees netted a modest 5,000 jobs in April, chipping away at the decline of 26,000 the previous month.