Private sector employers in the United States hired 164,000 workers in December, following a revised down employment growth of 101,000 in November, data by Automatic Data Processing showed on Thursday.
The December figure outstripped a consensus of analyst estimates of 115,000.
The leisure and hospitality segment added the highest number of jobs last month, 59,000.
The construction sector added 24,000 jobs, while the financial industry created 18,000.
On the other hand, job losses were registered in segments such as manufacturing (-13,000), information services (-2,000) and natural resources & mining (-2,000).
Wage growth continued to decelerate in December, as job-stayers received a 5.4% pay raise. And, persons who switched jobs saw an 8% pay increase.
“We’re returning to a labor market that’s very much aligned with pre-pandemic hiring. While wages didn’t drive the recent bout of inflation, now that pay growth has retreated, any risk of a wage-price spiral has all but disappeared,” ADP chief economist Nela Richardson commented on the data.
The ADP employment report is used as a predictor of the official government employment report due out on Friday.
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