Private payrolls rose 41,000 in December, slightly below expectations, ADP says

• Job growth concentrated in services: education and health added 39,000 jobs, leisure and hospitality added 24,000, while manufacturing lost 5,000 positions
• Small businesses drove hiring with nearly all gains at companies under 500 employees; large firms added only 2,000 jobs
• Wage growth remained moderate at 4.4% annually for job stayers and 6.6% for job changers, with the official BLS jobs report expected to show 73,000 new jobs

Summary: ADP Private Payrolls Report - December 2025

Key Figures:

Private sector employment increased by 41,000 jobs in December, slightly missing the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 48,000. This marks a recovery from November's revised loss of 29,000 positions. Private payrolls had declined in three of the four months preceding this report.

Sector Performance:

Job growth was concentrated entirely in services industries:

• Education and health services: +39,000
• Leisure and hospitality: +24,000
• Trade, transportation and utilities: +11,000
• Financial services: +6,000

Losses occurred in professional/business services (-29,000), information services (-12,000), and manufacturing (-5,000). Goods-producing industries overall shed 3,000 jobs.

Company Size Analysis:

Small and mid-sized establishments (under 500 employees) drove nearly all hiring, while large employers added only 2,000 positions. ADP chief economist Nela Richardson noted small establishments recovered from November losses with year-end hiring as larger employers retreated.

Wage Data:

Annual wage growth remained stable at 4.4% for workers staying in their positions (unchanged from November). Job changers saw 6.6% gains, up 0.3 percentage points from the prior month.

Market Context:

The report precedes Friday's Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data, which economists expect will show 73,000 new jobs and unemployment declining to 4.5% from 4.6%. This will be the first on-time BLS release following resolution of the recent government shutdown, which had previously impacted data collection.

The modest December gains signal continued labor market softness as 2025 concluded.