The employment
report released by Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) and Moody's Analytics revealed
that U.S. private employers added 107,000 jobs in January 2024.
Economists had forecast
an addition of 145,000 new jobs for January.
Meanwhile, the December
figure saw a downward
revision to 158,000 from the originally reported 164,000.
According to
the report, the January advance was led by leisure and hospitality (+28,000), trade, transportation and utilities (+23,000), and construction (+22,000).
Meanwhile, information (-9,000) was
the only sector that shed jobs.
The report also
showed that pay growth continued to shrink in January, with the job changers registering
an increase of 7.2 per cent, down from 8.0 per cent in December, and the job stayers recording
a rise of 5.2 per cent, down
from 5.4 per cent in December.
Commenting on
the latest report, Nela Richardson, ADP’s chief economist, noted that progress
on inflation had brightened the economic picture despite a slowdown in hiring
and pay. “Wages adjusted for inflation have improved over the past six months,
and the economy looks like it's headed toward a soft landing in the U.S. and
globally,” she added.