Overview
- Private employers added 41,000 jobs in December, below forecasts, after a revised loss of 29,000 in November, ADP reported.
- Gains were concentrated in education and health services and in leisure and hospitality, while professional and business services, information, and manufacturing shed jobs.
- Nearly all hiring came from smaller firms, with large employers adding only about 2,000 positions.
- ADP said pay rose 4.4% year over year for job stayers and 6.6% for job changers, indicating tempered but ongoing wage growth.
- Separately, BLS JOLTS data showed job openings fell to about 7.146 million in November as hiring eased, and investors are looking to Friday’s nonfarm payrolls for a cleaner read after earlier shutdown disruptions.