The payroll firm Automatic Data Processing likes to scoop the federal government by releasing its own set of employment data early, and this month we hope they're quite wrong, as they've predicted the smallest rise in private-sector job growth since last September.

According to ADP, private companies added 119,000 non-farm jobs in April, compared to its revised estimate of 201,000 added in March. Of course, the March figure turned out to be a lot more optimistic than the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which put March's employment gain at 120,000. The April report is especially disappointing because it falls well below what economists had predicted ADP would find. "Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast the ADP National Employment Report would show a gain of 177,000 jobs," Reuters reported. And with ADP showing bad numbers, we're not looking forward to the fed's official report on Friday.

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Adam Martin