The gloomy news continued for jobs as ADP reported Wednesday that private companies created just 119,000 new positions in April.

That was well below expectations and confirmation that the labor market is slowing heading into late spring and early summer.

Economists surveyed by Reuters expected the ADP report to show the private sector created 150,000 jobs in April, down from 158,000 in March.



(Read More: 'Real' Jobless Rate Still Above 10% in Most States)

"Nearly every industry has seen slower growth since the beginning of the year," Moody's economist Mark Zandi said on CNBC. "Smaller businesses are experiencing much weaker growth."