US private payrolls miss expectations in April

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. private payrolls growth slowed more than expected in April, the ADP National Employment Report showed on Wednesday.

Private payrolls increased by only 62,000 jobs this month after a downwardly revised 147,000 gain in March.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast private employment would advance by 115,000 following a previously reported gain of 155,000 in March.

The ADP report, jointly developed with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, was published ahead of the more comprehensive employment report for April due to be released on Friday by the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics. There is no correlation between the ADP and BLS employment reports.

The labor market continues to slow in an orderly fashion, though economists warn that President Donald Trump's tariffs could force companies to lay off workers.

Government data on Tuesday showed job openings dropped to a six-month low in March. There were 1.02 job openings for every unemployed person, slightly down from 1.06 in February.

Private payrolls likely increased by 125,000 jobs in April after a surge of 209,000 in March, a Reuters survey showed. Overall nonfarm payrolls are estimated to have increased by 130,000 jobs after a rise of 228,000 in March. The unemployment rate is forecast to be unchanged at 4.2%.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao and Chizu Nomiyama)