US private sector adds fewer jobs than expected: ADP

US PRIVATE sector hiring was cooler than anticipated in November, according to data from payroll firm ADP released on Wednesday (Dec 4), with manufacturing in particular showing weakness.

Private sector employment grew by 146,000 jobs last month, ADP said – lower than the 170,000 figure that analysts expected, according to Briefing.com.

“While overall growth for the month was healthy, industry performance was mixed,” said ADP chief economist Nela Richardson.

“Manufacturing was the weakest we’ve seen since spring,” she added in a statement.

October’s job growth figure was also revised markedly lower from 233,000 to 184,000.

Economic issues have been top-of-mind for Americans in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, with lingering inflation weighing on households despite a resilient jobs market.

Despite the cooldown this month, the Federal Reserve’s moves since September to lower interest rates should eventually give the world’s biggest economy a boost.

Pay growth for workers who stayed in their jobs climbed for the first time in over two years on an annual basis, to 4.8 per cent, said ADP.

For those who changed jobs, wage growth picked up to 7.2 per cent.

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Manufacturing lost 26,000 jobs in November while employment in areas like education and health services remained resilient.

ADP noted that “strong hiring at large employers led this month’s growth.” AFP