U.S. added 807,000 private jobs in December, more than twice the number expected
Private companies in the United States added more than 800,000 jobs during the month of December, an amount more than twice what analysts expected.
ADP and Moody’s Analytics said in their monthly report on Wednesday that private employers made about 807,000 hires last month.
Most experts projected the report would show around 380,000 new jobs.
According to the report, larger businesses — those with more than 500 employees — made the most hires, about 389,000. Medium-sized businesses made 214,000 and smaller businesses about 204,000.
“December’s job market strengthened as the fallout from the Delta [coronavirus] variant faded and Omicron’s impact had yet to be seen,” Nela Richardson, ADP chief economist, said in a statement.
“Job gains were broad-based, as goods producers added the strongest reading of the year, while service providers dominated growth.”
The Charging Bull Statue is seen in New York City. Wednesday’s private jobs report showed many more hires in December than analysts projected. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
The services sector was responsible for most of the growth, almost 670,000 jobs, particularly in leisure and hospitality. The goods-producing sector added close to 140,000, with manufacturing contributing more than half of that figure.
The report noted, however, that private job growth for all of 2021 fell short of prepandemic levels.
“December’s job growth brought the fourth quarter average to 625,000, surpassing the 514,000 average for the year. While job gains eclipsed 6 million in 2021, private sector payrolls are still nearly 4 million jobs short of pre-COVID-19 levels.”
The report from ADP and Moody’s came two days before the Labor Department issues its official December jobs report. Most analysts expect that report, which includes the public sector, to show about 400,000 new jobs.
