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ToggleAt a sensitive time when global markets are watching closely to see when the Federal Reserve will pull the trigger on interest rate cuts, the US labor market has once again demonstrated its resilience.
According to the ADP Research Institute and the Stanford Digital Economy Lab's joint " National Employment Report " (commonly known as the "non-farm payrolls") released on May 6, the number of private sector jobs in the United States rebounded significantly in April 2026.
109,000 new jobs created! The fastest growth rate since the beginning of 2025.
Data shows that the U.S. private sector added 109,000 jobs in April. This figure not only beat most Wall Street analysts' expectations but was also nearly double the revised figure for March (62,000). The official report states that this is the "fastest growth rate" recorded in the U.S. job market since January 2025.
Exploring the recruitment momentum of enterprise size reveals a peculiar phenomenon: "hot at both ends, cold in the middle." Small enterprises (1-49 employees) added a total of 65,000 jobs, while large enterprises (500 or more employees) contributed 42,000 jobs. In contrast, medium-sized enterprises (50-499 employees) performed weakly, with only a slight increase of 8,000 jobs.
In response, ADP Chief Economist Nela Richardson pointed out in her analysis:
"Small and large employers are actively hiring, but medium-sized enterprises are performing poorly. Large companies have abundant resources to deploy, while small businesses have the greatest flexibility, both of which are extremely important advantages in today's complex labor environment."
Healthcare, trade, and transportation industries become recruitment engines
In terms of industry categories, the service sector remains the absolute main driver of employment in the United States, with a surge of 94,000 job openings in a single month. Among them, "education and healthcare services" performed the strongest, adding 61,000 jobs; while "trade, transportation, and utilities" also saw a strong rebound, adding 25,000 jobs. In contrast, "professional and business services" lost 8,000 jobs.
Overall, the number of jobs in the commodity-producing sector grew modestly by 15,000, mainly driven by the construction industry (+10,000), while the manufacturing sector stagnated (+2,000).
Wage growth is sticky; keep a close eye on Friday's "non-farm payrolls report."
In addition to the recovery in employment, the market is also highly concerned about the potential pressure of "wage inflation." ADP's wage insights report shows that the median annual salary growth rate for job-stayers in April was 4.4% , a moderate slowdown compared to the previous month; however, the annual salary increase for job-changers remained stable at a high level of 6.6% , indicating that workers can still obtain considerable salary increases by changing careers.
As a key leading indicator for the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) upcoming non-farm payrolls (NFP) report to be released this Friday, the strong ADP data has undoubtedly sent shockwaves through the financial markets. If Friday's non-farm payrolls data confirms a rapidly recovering labor market, it will give the Federal Reserve more reason to maintain high interest rates for a longer period, which could further push up the US dollar index (DXY) and US Treasury yields, putting pressure on the short-term performance of high-risk assets such as Bitcoin (BTC).
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