Private payroll growth misses expectations
Private sector employment growth in November fell short of economists’ expectations, according to a new report.
The U.S. added 103,000 jobs in the private sector last month, according to payroll firm ADP. This number missed Wall Street economists’ expectations for November, where they predicted an increase of 128,000 jobs.
ADP said both the goods and services sectors showed weakness last month, especially in the manufacturing, construction and leisure and hospitality services.
“Restaurants and hotels were the biggest job creators during the post-pandemic recovery. But that boost is behind us, and the return to trend in leisure and hospitality suggests the economy as a whole will see more moderate hiring and wage growth in 2024,” Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, said in a statement.
Overall, the private goods sector saw a loss of 14,000 jobs. There was a 4,000 drop in construction jobs and a 14,000 drop in manufacturing jobs. The natural resources and mining sector saw a 5,000 job increase.
The report said that 117,000 service-providing jobs were added last month, including 55,000 in the trade, transportation and utilities sector, 44,000 in education and health services and 11,000 in financial activities. The leisure and hospitality sector took the biggest hit, losing about 7,000 jobs, according to the report.
The report also found that pay growth continued its slowdown last month, with a 5.6 percent increase in annual pay — the lowest gain since September. Those who changed jobs saw gains of 8.3 percent last month, which ADP said is “the smallest year- over-year increase since June 2021.”
This report also comes days ahead of the Labor Department’s job report this week, which will show whether the market is following a trend in slowing down.
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