The numbers: The U.S. private sector added jobs in January after shedding workers in the prior month, according to the ADP National Employment Report released Wednesday.
Private payrolls rose by 174,000 jobs in January after shedding a revised 78,000 in the prior month. This was a smaller job loss in December than the initial estimate of a decline of 123,000. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal forecast a gain of 48,000 private sector jobs in January. The ADP report is produced with by Moody’s Analytics.
What happened: While job losses from the pandemic had previously been concentrated in small and midsized businesses, there are now signs large companies are being hurt, ADP said.
By company size, small businesses added 51,000 private-sector jobs in January while large businesses added only 39,000. Medium-sized businesses, defined as firms with 50 to 499 employees, added 84,000 jobs.
From a wider lens, service sector providers added 156,000 jobs in January. Meanwhile goods producers added 19,000 jobs. Manufacturing added only 1,000 jobs.
Big picture: The data may provide a preview of the U.S. Labor Department’s monthly employment report that will be released Friday. Economists are also forecasting a rebound in total January non-farm payrolls, with the consensus calling for a gain of 105,000 jobs after a decline of 140,000 in December. The unemployment rate is forecast to hold steady at 6.7%.
Market reaction: Technology stocks were set to rise but Dow futures were flat in Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +1.57% jumped 475.57 points on Tuesday.
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