us private sector employment heated up unexpectedly in april according to data released by payroll firm adp on wednesday although pay gains slowed rapidly as well the jump comes despite policymakers efforts to rein in stubborn inflation by raising interest rates and the federal reserve is expected to unveil another quarterpoint hike at the end of its key policy meeting on wednesday job gains hit 296000 last month more than twice the figure that analysts expected and a surge from the revised 142000 number in march adp said but the slowdown in pay growth gives the clearest signal of whats going on in the labor market right now said adp chief economist nela richardson in a statement employers are hiring aggressively while holding pay gains in check as workers come off the sidelines she added pay growth has continued a nearly yearlong slowdown with those who changed jobs having their pay gains ease to 132 percent adp said for those who stayed in their roles wage growth stood at 67 percent richardson said adp data also indicated that fewer people are switching jobs the majority of job gains came from serviceproviding industries with leisure and hospitality being a standout while sectors such as financial activities and professional or business services saw declines adp said meanwhile small and medium establishments added more jobs than large ones but aprils readings could be subject to biggerthanusual errors as easter sunday was the first day of the survey week ian shepherdson and kieran clancy of pantheon macroeconomics said in a recent report overall payrolls have been impacted by the fading of postcovid catchup hiring the pantheon report said adding that there have been signs that a cyclical softening in labor demand are beginning