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Posted January 7, 2026 at 9:45 am
A closely followed private-sector hiring gauge showed U.S. job growth rebounded in December, though the pace remained well below levels typically associated with a healthy labor market.
Private businesses added 41,000 workers in December 2025, reversing a revised loss of 29,000 jobs in November, according to the latest National Employment Report from ADP. The increase fell short of economists’ expectations for a 47,000 gain.
“Small establishments recovered from November job losses with positive end-of-year hiring, even as large employers pulled back,” said Nela Richardson, ADP’s chief economist, highlighting a growing divergence in labor demand across firm sizes.
Service-providing industries accounted for nearly all December’s gains, adding 44,000 jobs. Education and health services led with 39,000 positions, followed by leisure and hospitality with 24,000.
Trade, transportation and utilities added 11,000. Professional and business services lost 29,000 jobs, while the information sector shed 12,000.
Goods-producing industries lost 3,000 jobs overall, weighed down by a 5,000-job decline in manufacturing, despite modest gains in construction and natural resources.
Hiring strength was concentrated in the South and Northeast. The South added 54,000 jobs, while the Northeast gained 40,000, driven by a strong rebound in the Mid-Atlantic region.
The West was a notable outlier, losing 61,000 jobs, with the Pacific region accounting for nearly all of the decline. The Midwest posted a modest 9,000-job increase.
Medium-sized businesses did most of the hiring in December, adding 34,000 workers. Small establishments added 9,000 jobs, while large employers added just 2,000, underscoring the pullback among bigger companies late in the year.
Wage pressures showed little sign of easing. Pay growth for job-stayers held steady at 4.4% year over year in December. For job-changers, pay gains accelerated to 6.6%, up from 6.3% in November.
U.S. stock futures edged higher Wednesday morning as investors digested the mixed labor data.
Contracts tied to the S&P 500 rose 0.1%, while Dow futures gained 0.3%, extending record highs from the prior session.
Nasdaq 100 futures hovered just below flat.
Moody’s Corp. (NYSE:MCO) led premarket movers, climbing 3% after strong gains earlier this week, as analysts cited robust debt issuance expectations in 2026.
In commodities, silver futures plunged 4% to $77 after briefly breaking above $80 on Tuesday. Gold futures fell 1.1%, while crude oil was little changed near $57 a barrel.
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Originally Posted January 7, 2026 – Private Hiring Rebounds In December, But Labor Market Still Limping
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