(Reuters) - U.S. private employers added 275,000 jobs in April, well above economists' expectations and the most since last July, supporting the view of a solid domestic labor market, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday.
April's robust figure might be overstating the strength of the jobs sector due to technical factors, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics which jointly developed the employment report with ADP (NASDAQ:ADP).
Job growth last month was likely in the 175,000 to 200,000 range, which is the current consensus range among economists, Zandi said on a conference call with reporters.
Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast the ADP National Employment Report would show a gain of 180,000 jobs, with estimates ranging from 141,000 to 225,000.
Private payroll gains in the month earlier were revised up to 151,000 from an originally reported 129,000 increase.
While the overall labor market is "fine," it is slowing, Zandi said.
The ADP figures come ahead of the U.S. Labor Department's more comprehensive non-farm payrolls report at 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT) on Friday, which includes both public and private-sector employment.
Economists polled by Reuters are looking for U.S. private payroll employment to have grown by 180,000 jobs in April, down from 182,000 the month before. Total non-farm employment is expected to have changed by 185,000.
The unemployment rate is forecast to stay steady at the 3.8 percent recorded a month earlier.
GRAPHIC: ADP vs. the U.S. Labor Department payrolls data - http://tmsnrt.rs/2eRF4KM