ADP private sector payrolls data was one of the key metrics we were looking for ahead of Friday’s key unemployment and payrolls reports. It is a large gain, but perhaps not quite as robust as many market participants were hoping for.

The ADP Payrolls report grew by some 191,000 in the month of March. February’s gain was only 139,000. ADP was quoted:

The 191,000 U.S. private sector jobs added in March is slightly above the twelve-month average. Hopefully, this could be a sign there is more growth to come.

Bloomberg was calling for 193,000, against a range of 150,000 to 220,000. Dow Jones had the number pegged at 200,000 expected. ADP’s breakdown was as follows:

• Small businesses (1 to 49 employees) +72,000
• Medium businesses (50 to 499 employees) +52,000
• Large businesses (500 or more employees) +67,000

Wednesday’s report is the first of six components we are evaluating in our full unemployment and payrolls preview for this week. Below are three charts provided by ADP.