Private sector employers added 807,000 jobs in December, according to payroll giant ADP, as the job market continued to recover despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Small businesses gained 204,000 jobs, including 104,000 at firms with between one and 19 employees and 100,000 at companies with between 20 and 49 employees, according to the
The service-providing sector gained 669,000 jobs in December, including 130,000 in professional and business services such as accounting and tax preparation, along with 24,000 in financial activities such as banking. The goods-producing sector added 138,000 jobs, including 74,000 in manufacturing and 62,000 in construction. Franchises added 39,400 jobs.
The 807,000 jobs gained in December brings the fourth quarter average to 625,000, surpassing the 514,000 average per quarter for the year, noted Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP. “It’s very important to note that these latest numbers reflect the 12th of the month reference week, and we view this as a small window between when the delta variant was fading and before the acceleration and rapid spread of the omicron variant,” she added during a conference call Wednesday with reporters. “Hence, the December strength could be a standout month, and the effective rising COVID cases are likely to be more strongly reflected in January’s data. With this important caveat noted, the stronger December report from the previous month was anticipated by the 25% drop in jobless claims from the November to December reports. Jobless claims are now not only at pandemic lows, but near historic lows, with levels last seen in 1969.”
The most recent federal data shows that job openings remain near record highs, Richardson pointed out, and businesses are still looking to staff up to meet surging demand late in the year despite the ongoing uncertainty created by the pandemic.
“Both of these data points we regard as signals that companies are actively trying to retain their existing workforce as well as hire new workers. In total, job gains were greater than 6 million in 2021,” said Richardson. “However, with a solid jobs recovery in place, private sector payrolls still ended the year nearly 4 million jobs short of pre-COVID-19 levels. The pandemic stripped the economy of nearly two years of job market growth in excess of 2019 levels.”
