US ADP private employment dropped -301k in January, much worse than expectation of 270k growth. By company size, small businesses lost -144k jobs, medium business lost -59k, large business lost -98k. By sector, goods-producing jobs dropped -27k, services-providing jobs dropped -274k.
“The labor market recovery took a step back at the start of 2022 due to the effect of the Omicron variant and its significant, though likely temporary, impact to job growth,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP. “The majority of industry sectors experienced job loss, marking the most recent decline since December 2020. Leisure and hospitality saw the largest setback after substantial gains in fourth quarter 2021, while small businesses were hit hardest by losses, erasing most of the job gains made in December 2021.”
