US private employers lost 32,000 positions in November, with job creation seemingly locked in a standstill, according to the private payroll processor ADP.
Job creation has essentially been flat in the second half of this year, ADP said, and small businesses in particular appeared to struggle in November.
“Hiring has been choppy of late as employers weather cautious consumers and an uncertain macroeconomic environment,” ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said in a statement. “And while November's slowdown was broad-based, it was led by a pullback among small businesses.”
About 46% of all US employees work for small businesses, according to government data.
Manufacturing and construction dropped positions, as did professional and business services. Pay growth is also slowing as hiring stalls, Richardson said.
"Year-over-year pay for job-stayers rose 4.4%, and that's down from 4.5% in October," Richardson said. "For job-changers, it was even a more notable slide downward: 6.7% in October, but 6.3% in November."
Meanwhile, American workers feel terrible about the job market. Some 69% of consumers expect unemployment to rise in the year ahead, according to the University of Michigan’s survey of consumers.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/adp-private-payrolls-dropped-32000-positions-last-month-in-slowing-job-market-133210474.html 