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The U.S. private sector recorded an unexpected drop of 301,000 jobs last January, the first job reduction since December 2020 and the largest since April 2020, according to the Automatic Data Processing (ADP) report.
The study by ADP, one of the largest payroll managers in the country, indicated that while investors expected an increase of 207,000 jobs, the trend has been negative.
In 2021 this sector added 5.9 million jobs. Last December the private sector gained 776,000 jobs. The largest losses in January occurred in the services sector, with the decline of 274,000 jobs, of which 154,000 were in leisure and hospitality. There were also 62,000 job losses in trade and transportation and another 15,000 job losses in education and health care.
The goods-producing sector lost 27,000 jobs, ADP noted. In this sector, there was a drop of 21,000 jobs in manufacturing and another 10,000 in construction, while 4,000 jobs were gained in mining and natural resources. ADP added that small businesses reduced their payrolls by 144,000 jobs, large businesses let go 98,000 workers, and medium-sized businesses lost 59,000 jobs.
