Figures released Thursday morning reveal ob creation stateside tailed off significantly in December, pointing to an increasingly tight labour market.
The monthly tally for private job creation by ADP showed companies south of the border added 153,000 in the month after Donald Trump captured the White House. That was considerably below market expectations of 170,000 and well below the 215,000 added in November. It also came amid expectations for significantly stronger growth under the new president.
The ADP report showed businesses with fewer than 50 employees, where most jobs have come from since the 2009 recession lifted, added just 18,000 positions in December, with firms employing fewer than 20 employees actually cutting 3,000 jobs.
Companies with 50 to 599 employees added the most for the month at 71,000, while large firms contributed 63,000, all but 8,000 of which came from those with more than 1,000 workers.
The report also showed U.S. goods-producing companies had a particularly difficult month, cutting a net 16,000 jobs, which included a loss of 9,000 in the manufacturing sector. Natural resources and mining cut 5,000 while construction lost 2,000.
Services led the way with 169,000 new jobs, 82,000 of which came from trade, transportation and utilities. Education and health services added 29,000 while professional and business services contributed 24,000 and leisure and hospitality — essentially bars and restaurants — saw growth of 18,000.
The year concluded with an average of 174,000 jobs created per month, according to the ADP tallies, which usually differ significantly from the government's official non-farm payrolls count, due for release Friday morning.
