Reports show slowdown in hiring, service firms

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Two reports Wednesday showed that U.S. service companies grew more slowly in March, and private employers pulled back on hiring. The declines suggest businesses may have grown more cautious last month after federal spending cuts took effect.

The Institute for Supply Management said that its index of nonmanufacturing activity fell to 54.4 last month. That’s down from 56 in February and the lowest in seven months. Any reading above 50 signals expansion.

Slower hiring and a steep drop in new orders drove the index down. A gauge of hiring fell 3.9 points to 53.3, the lowest since November. That means companies kept hiring, just at a slower pace.

The ISM report covers companies that employ roughly 90 percent of the workforce.

A separate report from payroll processor ADP also pointed to slightly weaker hiring in March. ADP said private employers added 158,000 jobs in March, down from 237,000 the previous month. Construction firms didn’t add any jobs after three months of solid gains.

Economists were not overly concerned with the weaker reports.

Several noted that ADP’s figures are less reliable than the government’s more-comprehensive jobs report, which comes out Friday.