ADP: December Private-Sector Employment Jumps by 807,000

In the second of four key employment reports this week, ADP, Roseland, N.J., reported private-sector employment increased by 807,000 jobs from November to December.

The ADP National Employment Report said by company size, small businesses (1-49 employees) added 204,000 jobs; medium businesses (50-499 employees) added 214,000 jobs and large businesses added 389,000 jobs.

By sector, goods-producing employers added 138,000 jobs; while service-providing employers added 669,000 jobs. Of those, financial activities employers added 24,000 jobs.

“December’s job market strengthened as the fallout from the Delta variant faded and Omicron’s impact had yet to be seen,” said Nela Richardson, ADP chief economist. “Job gains were broad-based, as goods producers added the strongest reading of the year, while service providers dominated growth.”

The report said December’s job growth brought the fourth quarter average to 625,000, surpassing the 514,000 average for the year. However, Richardson noted while job gains eclipsed 6 million in 2021, “private sector payrolls are still nearly 4 million jobs short of pre-COVID-19 levels.”

On Tuesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) that 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs in November.

This morning (Thursday), the Labor Department releases its weekly Initial Claims report for unemployment insurance; last week, the number of people filing initial claims fell below 200,000 for the third time in six weeks.

On Friday, BLS releases its Employment Situation report with data for December. Last month, BLS reported employers added 210,000 jobs in November; the unemployment rate fell to 4.2 percent.

MBA Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni will provide commentary and analysis on the December jobs report in the Monday, Jan. 10 MBA NewsLink.