Private Hiring Trended Positive in December, ADP Says

By Matt Grossman

Private-sector hiring shifted back into gear in December, human-resources firm ADP estimated in its latest monthly report.

Businesses added a net 41,000 new employees last month, after shedding 29,000 on net in November, according ADP's running estimate. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected to see 48,000 new private-sector jobs in ADP's figures, which are derived from the anonymized payrolls of the company's corporate clients.

Big companies pulled back slightly from the job market last month, ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said. But small businesses, which had cut roles on net in November, grew their staffs last month, putting private-sector jobs in positive territory overall, she said.

The estimate lands two days before the government's official December jobs report, hotly anticipated by analysts and investors for evidence of whether the job market continued to cool in the home stretch of last year.

The Labor Department's most recent figures-which cover the whole economy, not just the private sector-have shown that the U.S. added a net 22,000 jobs a month in the three months through November, a slowdown from an average pace of more than 100,000 jobs a month between January and March of 2025.

As hiring slowed, joblessness rose gradually through most of 2025, but at 4.6% in November, the unemployment rate remained relatively modest by historical standards.

In their forecasts for 2026, economists have mulled whether a slowing consumer economy could drag down the labor market further-or whether a more business-friendly tax code and less uncertainty about federal policy might spur a stronger hiring outlook.

Write to Matt Grossman at matt.grossman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 07, 2026 08:49 ET (13:49 GMT)