MACRO: US private hiring surged in December

Private businesses in the United States hired 807K workers in December, the most in 7 months and more than double market forecasts of 400K. Hiring was broad-based, though leisure and hospitality led with 246K new jobs. A significant number of jobs were also created in trade, transportation and utilities (138K), professional and business services (130K), education and health services (85K), manufacturing (74K) and construction (62K). Large companies hired the most (389K), followed by midsized (214K) and small (204K). "December’s job growth brought the fourth quarter average to 625,000, surpassing the 514,000 average for the year. While job gains eclipsed 6 million in 2021, private sector payrolls are still nearly 4 million jobs short of pre-COVID-19 levels”, said Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP. However the data in the report covers only through the middle of December, which was before the height of the escalation in COVID-19 cases.

Private payrolls jumped by 807K in December, although the rising number of new COVID-19 cases could slow momentum in the labor market. Source: Bloomberg via ZeroHedge

Nevertheless it's positive news for the economy after yesterday’s report that a record 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs in November, up from 4.2 million in October, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. ADP data may offer a preview of the government employment report due out Friday, however it is worth remembering that today’s report can be far out of line with the official figures because of methodology differences.