The ADP National Employment Report showed private employers added 220,000 jobs to their payrolls in April after increasing headcount by 209,000 in March.

Economists in a consensus survey expected ADP's national employment index to show the economy created 200,000 private sector jobs in April, up from March's 191,430 reading.

Read More Yikes! US economy slows to a crawl in first quarter

"This weakness is not carrying through the second quarter," said Gus Faucher, senior economist at PNC Financial Services in Pittsburgh.

—By Reuters

