Jan. 8 (UPI) — Private employers added 122,000 seasonally adjusted U.S. jobs in December, according to a Wednesday report from payroll company ADP. Dow Jones economists expected 136,000.
“The labor market downshifted to a more modest pace of growth in the final month of 2024, with a slowdown in both hiring and pay gains,” ADP Chief Economist Nela Richardson said in a statement. “Health care stood out in the second half of the year, creating more jobs than any other sector.”
The bulk of new jobs — 112,000 — were in the service sector, while 10,000 goods-producing jobs were added in December. ADP found annual pay rose 4.6% year-over-year.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics non-farm payrolls jobs report will be out Friday. Dow Jones-polled economists expect that number to be 155,000, a significant drop from November’s higher-than-expected total of 227,000.
Large companies with more than 500 employees led December jobs creation at 97,000.
Within the services sector ADP found education and health services led job creation with 57,000 new jobs. Leisure and hospitality added 22,000.
By geographic region, the West created 82,000 jobs. The South and Northeast each created 19,000 December private sector jobs while the Midwest added 7,000.
Annual pay increased the most in construction sector jobs, growing by 5.1%. Workers changing jobs saw the highest pay increases at 7.1%.
Workers who stayed at their jobs saw 4.6% pay increases.
Financial activities job pay was up 4.9%.
Medium-sized employers increased pay the most at 4.8%, followed by large firms at 4.6% and businesses with 20-49 employees had a 4.6% year-over-year pay increase.
ADP’s private sector job report is based on employer payroll information.