Private sector employment increased by 807,000 jobs in December, according to Roseland-based payroll and human resources firm ADP.
In its monthly ADP National Employment Report, ADP said December’s job market strengthened as the fallout from the COVID-19 Delta variant faded and Omicron’s impact had yet to be seen.
“Job gains were broad-based, as goods producers added the strongest reading of the year, while service providers dominated growth,” Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP, said in a prepared statement. “December’s job growth brought the fourth-quarter average to 625,000, surpassing the 514,000 average for the year. While job gains eclipsed 6 million in 2021, private sector payrolls are still nearly 4 million jobs short of pre-COVID-19 levels.”
The largest businesses, with more than 500 workers, hired 389,000 employees. Medium-sized businesses, with 50-499 workers, added 214,000 jobs, while small businesses, with less than 50 workers, added 204,000 positions.
The service-providing sector added 669,000 jobs for the month, with the goods-producing sector adding 138,000, ADP said.
Among individual industries, leisure and hospitality led the way, with 246,000 hires. Trade/transportation/utilities added 138,000 positions, professional and business services added 130,000, while, in the goods-producing sector, manufacturing led the way with 74,000, and construction was right behind with 62,000.
