U.S. private sector job and salary growth slowed in several industries in December, according to a report. report It was released on Wednesday.
The Always Designing for People (ADP) report said about 122,000 jobs were added in the private sector in December, about 24,000 fewer than November's total of 146,000.
“The labor market shifted down to a slower pace of growth in the final months of 2024, with both employment and wage growth slowing,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP. “Healthcare stood out in the second half of this year, creating more jobs than any other sector.”
The report said employment slowed across several industries and manufacturing continued to slow, contracting for the third consecutive month.
The service industry had the best success rate in December, adding 112,000 jobs. In particular, the education and health services industry added 57,000 jobs in the last month of 2024. The leisure and hospitality industry added 22,000 jobs, the second-highest among service industries, according to the report.
According to the report, in the goods production sector, the construction industry added 27,000 jobs, while the manufacturing industry suffered the most, losing 11,000 jobs.
The Western region of the United States added 82,000 jobs, the most of the four regions. The Midwest fared the worst in December, bringing in 7,000 positions, according to the report.
The wage growth rate for people changing jobs was 7.1%, down slightly from 7.2% in November. According to ADP, the year-over-year wage growth rate for those who kept their jobs was 4.6%, the slowest growth rate since July 2021.
