The number of employees in the private sector increased by 235,000 last month, led by small and medium-sized businesses, according to data from the ADP Research Institute in collaboration with the Digital Economy Lab at Stanford. The number beat all but one forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
Job gains have been concentrated in companies with fewer than 500 employees. In contrast, the largest companies cut 151,000 workers from payroll, the largest number since April 2020. Entertainment, hospitality, educational and health services, professional and commercial services, and construction led to job growth.
- unemployment benefits
In addition, the number of Americans who filed new applications for unemployment benefits fell to its lowest level in three months last week, while layoffs fell 43 percent in December, which indicates a decline in the labor market, which may push the Federal Reserve (the bank). US central bank) to continue raising interest rates.
The Labor Department said Thursday that first-time applications for state unemployment benefits fell by 19,000 to a seasonally adjusted number to 204,000 in the week ending Dec. 31, the lowest level since the end of September.
Economists polled by Archyde.com had expected 225,000 applications.
The data was affected by the volatility that accompanied the year-end holidays. Through those fluctuations, orders have remained at very low levels despite layoffs in the technology sector and interest rate sensitive industries such as housing and finance.
On Wednesday, the Labor Department reported that there were 10.458 million vacancies at the end of November, which means 1.74 jobs for every unemployed person.
The report also showed that the number of people receiving benefits following the first week of claims fell 24,000 to 1.694 million in the week ending Dec. 24. (Archyde.com)
