Private firms added 169,000 jobs in April, missing forecasts

Businesses added just 169,000 jobs in April, according to payroll processor ADP. Economists had expected 198,000 new jobs.

ADP revised down its March report to 175,000 jobs from 189,000.The survey measures only private employment and excludes government hiring.

The jobs trend has been downward since November, when private employers added 284,000 jobs, according to ADP. Each month's ADP survey has been lower since then.

Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics, said, "Fallout from the collapse of oil prices and the surging value of the dollar are weighing on job creation. Employment in the energy sector and manufacturing is declining. However, this should prove temporary and job growth will reaccelerate this summer."

Large businesses added just 5,000 new jobs in April, but small companies -- those with fewer than 50 employees -- hired 94,000. Midsized companies added 70,000.

Service-sector jobs had the biggest gains, adding 170,000 new jobs in April.

The construction industry, buoyed by low mortgage rates and a moderate housing market, added 23,000 new workers, ADP says. But manufacturers, stung by a higher dollar that makes exports more expensive, shed 10,000 jobs.

The ADP is a fairly reliable indicator of the closely watched jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, to be released Friday at 8:30 a.m. ET. Action Economics estimates that the BLS report will show 225,000 new nonfarm jobs created in April and a 5.4% unemployment rate.