Released on January 6, 2021

Private-sector employment fell by 123,000 jobs in December compared to November as Covid-19 surged, according to the ADP National Employment Report released today.

“As the impact of the pandemic on the labor market intensifies, December posted the first decline since April 2020,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, VP and co-head of the ADP Research Institute. “The job losses were primarily concentrated in retail and leisure/hospitality.”

Still, the decline of 123,000 jobs in December was smaller than the decline of 19.4 million jobs in April.

Large businesses shed 147,000 jobs in December while small businesses lost 13,000 jobs; however, this was partially offset by an increase of 37,000 jobs at midsize businesses.

Here are December’s changes in jobs by sector:

  • Goods-producing, down 18,000
    • Natural resources/mining: 0
    • Construction, up 3,000
    • Manufacturing, down 21,000
  • Service-providing, down 105,000
    • Trade/transportation/utilities, down 50,000
    • Information, down 6,000
    • Financial activities, up 2,000
    • Professional/business services, up 12,000
      • Professional/technical services, up 5,000
      • Management of companies/enterprises, 0
      • Administrative/support services, up 7,000
    • Education/health services, up 8,000
      • Healthcare/social assistance, up 9,000
      • Education, down 1,000
    • Leisure/hospitality, down 58,000
    • Other services, down 12,000

This report is derived from ADP’s actual payroll data and measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Original author: Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) | Daily News