US businesses added 153,000 jobs in December

U.S. businesses added jobs at a slower pace in December but pushed total labor market growth to nearly 2.4 million for the year, according to a new report on Thursday.

The private sector added 153,000 jobs last month, a slower pace than the 215,000 in November, amid a tightening labor market, payroll processor ADP said in the final report of the year.

{mosads}“Job growth remains strong but is slowing,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics who oversees the ADP report.

“The gap between employment growth in the service economy and losses on the goods side persists,” he said.  

“Smaller companies are struggling to maintain payrolls while large companies are expanding at a healthy pace.”

Medium-sized businesses with between 50 and 499 employees led the way last month, adding 71,000 jobs. Smaller firms only hired 18,000 in December. The nation’s largest firms tacked on 63,000. 

Slower growth is expected this year with the economy nearing full employment, which could help boost wages for workers.  

The unemployment rate fell to 4.6 percent in November and is expected to remain stable in December. 

The government’s jobs report is expected to show that about 180,000 were added in December, a modest finish to a see-saw year in hiring.

In December, trade and transportation added 82,000 jobs, education and health care added 29,000 jobs, professional services added 24,000 and hotels and restaurants hired 18,000.

But manufacturers shed 9,000 jobs, mining hiring fell 5,000 and construction lost 2,000.

“As we exit 2016, it’s interesting to note that the private sector generated an average of 174,000 jobs per month, down from 209,000 in 2015,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and head of the ADP Research Institute.

“And while job gains in December were slightly below our monthly average, the U.S. labor market has experienced unprecedented seven years of growth that has brought us to near full employment,”  Yildirmaz said. 

Economic growth picked up pace to 3.5 percent in the July-September quarter, the Commerce Department reported last month.

But overall growth for 2016 will likely reflect a tepid expamsion, even as employers show a willingness to hang onto their workers and possibly pick up the pace of hiring in 2017.