NEW YORK—The monthly private sector estimated jobs report from ADP disappointed investors and analysts, sending U.S. stocks lower on Wednesday.
Automatic Data Processing Inc., a payroll-outsourcing firm, said that the private sector added 119,000 jobs in April, which is lower than the 170,000 new jobs expected by analysts and economists. The result interrupted a five-month period where the U.S. economy added more than 200,000 private-sector jobs per month.
Almost all of the jobs growth came from companies in the service sector. Once again, small-sized businesses led the charge, hiring an additional 58,000 workers last month. Medium-sized companies came in next, followed by large businesses.
