Private payrolls growth in November was lower than anticipated, indicating a deceleration in the labor market, as per a report by ADP on Wednesday. Companies added 146,000 jobs during the month, which was below the revised 184,000 jobs in October and fell short of the Dow Jones estimate of 163,000.
The sectors that saw the most job creation were education and health services, adding 50,000 positions, followed by construction with 30,000 new jobs, trade, transportation, and utilities with 28,000 additions, and the other services category contributing 20,000 jobs. However, manufacturing experienced a loss of 26,000 positions, and businesses with fewer than 50 employees reported a decrease of 17,000 jobs.
Wage growth accelerated by 4.8%, a faster increase compared to October, marking the first time this has occurred in 25 months. ADP’s chief economist, Nela Richardson, noted that while overall growth for the month was positive, industry performance was mixed, with manufacturing showing its weakest performance since spring, along with softness in financial services and leisure and hospitality sectors.
Despite the lower-than-expected figures and the downward revision for October, ADP’s count still exceeded the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ nonfarm payrolls count, which only showed an increase of 12,000 jobs in October. The BLS report, expected to be released on Friday, is anticipated to show a growth of 214,000 jobs, following disruptions from the Boeing strike and storms in the Southeast that impacted the October total.
