Jobs data, both ADP and claims

ADP said there were a net private sector jobs add of 164k in December which was above the estimate of 125k and up from 101k in November. Almost all of the job gains were seen in the service sector which contributed 155k of the 164k with the goods side adding the rest. Leisure/hospitality led the way with a job gain of 59k, followed by the always consistent job creator education/health category which hired a net 42k. There was little change, up 1k, for professional/business services and information (includes tech) shed 2k. Financial services added 18k jobs and trade/transportation/utilities added 15k. On the goods side, in the context of a manufacturing recession, jobs of 13k were lost and also by 2k in natural resources/mining. Construction added 24k and includes the benefits of factory builds induced by government incentives/largesse. Among small, medium and large businesses, the job gains were almost evenly split.

Wage growth slowed but some of this is certainly just the comparisons. ‘Job Stayers’ saw a 5.4% y/o/y pay gain vs 5.6% in November. For ‘Job Changers’, the pay raise was 8% y/o/y vs 8.3% in November. These are still pretty robust figures and trending above average hourly earnings because of calculation differentials I assume.