The pace of hiring by private employers in the United States slowed last month. Only 158,000 jobs were added, according to a report issued Wednesday by payroll-processing firm ADP.
This missed the consensus forecast from Briefing.com of 197,000 jobs, and was a sharp drop from February's job growth, which was revised upwards to 237,000 jobs added.
The report shows the labour market in the U.S. is continuing to gradually get better. However, some economists are concerned that uncertainty over the federal government's forced budget cuts, which will prompt layoffs across the public sector in coming months, could derail that growth.
The ADP report, which looks only at the private sector, is one of several indicators of the labor market's health coming out this week.
All eyes will be on the U.S. Labor Department's monthly jobs report -- which includes government employment -- that will be released on Friday. The Briefing.com forecast is for the economy to have added 192,000 jobs in March and the unemployment rate to have remained steady at 7.7%.
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