Overview
- Private payrolls fell by 32,000 in November, the largest monthly decline in the ADP series since early 2023 and a sharp miss versus forecasts for gains.
- Establishments with fewer than 50 employees cut about 120,000 jobs, while mid-sized and large firms together added roughly 90,000 positions.
- Pay growth cooled further as job-stayers saw 4.4% annual wage gains and job-changers 6.3%, pointing to easing labor-cost pressures.
- Losses were concentrated in professional and business services, information, manufacturing, financial activities and construction, with education and health services and leisure and hospitality still adding jobs.
- Economists cautioned that ADP often diverges from the government’s tally, and the BLS’s delayed November jobs report is scheduled for Dec. 16.