U.S. Private Payrolls Growth Slows in December

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. private payrolls growth slowed sharply in December, as reported by the ADP National Employment Report on Wednesday.

Private payrolls increased by 122,000 jobs last month, a significant decline from an unrevised 146,000 increase in November. Economists polled by Reuters had predicted a rise of 140,000 in private employment.

The ADP report, developed in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, was released ahead of Friday’s more detailed employment report from the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

It’s important to note that there is no correlation between the ADP and BLS employment reports. Historically, initial ADP prints have often understated private payroll growth this year.

A slowdown in job growth was expected in December, following a boost in November caused by the resolution of disruptions from hurricanes and strikes at Boeing and another aerospace firm.

Private payrolls are likely to have increased by 135,000 jobs in December after rising 194,000 in November, according to a Reuters survey. With anticipated gains in government employment, nonfarm payrolls are forecasted to have increased by 160,000 jobs after surging 227,000 in November. The unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 4.2%.