ADP: Surprisingly Slow

Bottom Line:   ADP reported less-than-expected hiring in March, with payrolls rising 145k, well below the consensus estimates looking for 210k. Payrolls declined notably in professional and business services (often jobs in legal and consulting firms), financial activities (accountants, investments, etc), and in information (typically more old media but some tech). Manufacturing jobs also declined sharply, consistent with the survey data in March. Construction hiring remained surprisingly resilient, and while slower, gains in leisure and hospitality were still robust. Between the two largest segments - trade/transportation/utilities and education/health we saw continued strong gains in the former, while the latter continued to slow. Overall, ADP's report offered a potential downside risk to estimates of 240k for Friday's national payroll data. And on a trend basis, the report shows job growth slowing modestly.