Hiring in the U.S. private sector and pay growth slowed down in December last year across several industries, according to a report released on Wednesday.
The Always Designing for People (ADP) report found that some 122,000 jobs were added in the private sector in December, coming around 24,000 short of the November total of 146,000.
“The labor market downshifted to a more modest pace of growth in the final month of 2024, with a slowdown in both hiring and pay gains,” ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said. “Health care stood out in the second half of the year, creating more jobs than any other sector.”
With a slowdown in hiring across multiple industries, the manufacturing sector continued to stall, shrinking for the third straight month, according to the report.
The service industry had the highest success rate in December, adding 112,000 jobs. In particular, the education and health services industries added 57,000 positions in the last month of 2024. The leisure and hospitality industries were second within the service industry, adding 22,000 jobs, according to the report.
In the goods-producing sector, construction added 27,000 jobs while manufacturing had the largest downturn, losing 11,000 positions, the report showed.
The western U.S. region added 82,000 jobs, the most out of the four regions. The Midwest fared the worst in December, contributing 7,000 positions, according to the report.
Pay growth for those changing jobs was at 7.1 percent, a slight decline from November’s 7.2 percent. Year-over-year pay growth for those keeping their jobs was 4.6 percent, the slowest uptick since July of 2021, ADP noted.
