Overview
- JOLTS reported November job openings fell to 7.146 million and hires slipped to 5.115 million, with layoffs at a six‑month low and quits ticking higher.
- ADP said private payrolls rose by 41,000 in December, missing forecasts, with gains concentrated in education and health care and leisure and hospitality as professional and business services and information shed jobs.
- Large employers added just 2,000 positions in ADP’s data, while small and mid‑sized firms accounted for nearly all net growth, and manufacturing employment declined by 5,000.
- Pay growth remained tempered in December, with year‑over‑year wages up 4.4% for job stayers and 6.6% for job changers, according to ADP.
- Weekly jobless claims edged up to 208,000 and continuing claims reached 1.914 million, and with three late‑2025 Fed rate cuts already in place, markets expect a pause as economists await Friday’s BLS report after prior shutdown distortions.