Payroll giant ADP has released its National Employment Report for April revealing that nonfarm private sector employment increased by 179,000 jobs from March to April. The moderate growth is consistent with the expectations for tomorrow’s official Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Situation Summary, the federal government’s monthly report detailing the nation’s employment picture.

The April ADP report indicates employment in the service sector rose by 138,000 in April, the sixteenth consecutive month of gains in the sector. Employment manufacturing increased by 25,000, the seventh consecutive month of gains, and there was a 41,000 job increase in the goods producing sector, marking that sector’s sixth consecutive monthly gain. There was also good news in the construction sector, gaining 9,000 jobs. It is only the second monthly increase in the construction sector since June 2007.

There were also variations in how the gains cut across businesses by the size of the firms. Employment in large businesses rose by 11,000 in April, while medium-sized businesses, those with between 50 and 499 workers, increased by 84,000. Employment in small businesses, firms with fewer than 50 workers, jumped by 84,000 last month.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the April Employment Situation Summary tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. While there has been modest job growth, it has not been sufficient to offset high unemployment. The ADP National Employment Report does not provide the detailed demographic profile that the BLS monthly report provides. Of interest to Black Americans will be the racial breakdown of the unemployed population as Blacks have fared worse than other groups during the economic downturn. Persistent joblessness among Blacks has become a point of contention between some Blacks on Capitol Hill and the civil rights leadership and the Obama administration. Journalist DeWayne Wickham recently penned a column in USA Today taking President Obama to task for not fulfilling his campaign promise to tackle Black unemployment. Though the President maintains significant support among Black voters, the issue of Black unemployment is likely to shadow his reelection campaign.