Companies in the private sector added 41,000 jobs in December, payroll processing firm ADP said Wednesday.
The figure is below economists’ estimates of a gain of 47,000 jobs. The prior month’s payrolls number was revised to a loss of 29,000 from an initially reported loss of 32,000.
“Small establishments recovered from November job losses with positive end-of-year hiring, even as large employers pulled back,” said ADP chief economist Nela Richardson.
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Education and health services added 39,000 positions, leading job creation in December. Leisure and hospitality added 24,000 positions, while trade, transportation and utilities added 11,000. Financial activities and other services added 6,000 and 5,000 jobs, respectively.
Construction and natural resources and mining each contributed 1,000.
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On the negative side, professional and business services lost 29,000 jobs in the month. Information and manufacturing lost 12,000 and 5,000 positions, respectively.
Large businesses – those with 500 or more employees – added 2,000 jobs in December. Businesses with 50 to 499 employees added 34,000 workers. Establishments with fewer than 50 employees added 9,000 jobs.
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Wage growth in December was little changed from last month. People staying in their roles saw their pay climb 4.4% from the prior year, while pay gains for those staying in their jobs grew slightly to 6.6% from 6.3% in November.
The ADP data is released before the Labor Department’s nonfarm payrolls report, which is due on Friday morning and can differ notably. The government data is expected to show an increase of 60,000 positions, below the 64,000 reported in November. The unemployment rate is expected to ease slightly to 4.5% from 4.6% the prior month.
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