Private sector employment in the US saw an increase in March, surpassing market expectations with 155,000 people added to payrolls. The national employment report for March, prepared by the ADP Research Institute in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, was released. It was predicted that private sector employment, surpassing market expectations, would increase by 118,000 people during this period. The data on the increase in private sector employment in February was revised from 77,000 to 84,000. Employment numbers increased by 52,000 in small businesses, 44,000 in medium-sized businesses, and 59,000 in large businesses. During this period, employment in the service sector increased by 132,000, while the production sector saw an increase of 23,000 jobs. According to ADP’s private employment data, calculated using payroll information from over 25 million workers in the US, average wages increased by 4.6% annually in March. In February, the annual wage increase was recorded at 4.7%. Nela Richardson, Chief Economist at the ADP Research Institute, noted in her evaluation of the data that despite policy uncertainty and pessimistic consumers, the March figures were positive for the economy and employers of all sizes.