US companies pulled back on hiring in April, payrolls group ADP said Wednesday, in a fresh sign of continued sluggishness in the economy.

Companies added 156,000 jobs last month, about 40,000 less than analysts had expected, and down from 194,000 in March.

While the ADP figures often do not match the US Labor Department's total job market assessment each month, the report could point to a likely downturn in the official data when it is reported on Friday.

'The job market appears to have stumbled in April. Job growth noticeably slowed, with some weakness across most sectors," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, which works with ADP to produce the monthly survey.

“One month does not make a trend, but this bears close watching as the financial market turmoil earlier in the year may have done some damage to business hiring."