ADP said a net 307k jobs were created in November, below the estimate of 440k but partially offset by an upward revision of 39k to 404k in October. Most of the jobs were added at those companies with less than 500 people while those with more saw only a modest gain of 58k.
The goods producing sector added 31k where 22k came from construction, 8k from manufacturing (the least since the decline seen in April) and 1k from the natural resource/mining area.
Services contributed the balance of 276k jobs led by 95k from leisure and hospitality. That 95k figure compares with 139k in October and 93k in September. We’ll see how many of those can be held on during the colder months in light of the indoor restrictions. The healthcare sector continued with its consistent job gains, of 60k vs 72k in October and 101k in September. I think much in response to the difficulty in finding people with the skills needed, particularly truck drivers, there was a slowdown in the pace of job growth in the trade/transportation/utility sector with a net gain of 31k vs 59k last month and 182 in the month prior.
ADP said simply “While November saw employment gains, the pace continues to slow.”
So after losing 19.7mm jobs in March and April, we’ve recaptured almost 10mm. I’m guessing the reason why the rate of change slowed further in November is just in response to the Covid flare up and the difficulty in managing labor forces for those businesses where employees are needed on site. That was seen throughout the ISM manufacturing index yesterday. We of course look forward to Spring time.
Peter is the Chief Investment Officer at Bleakley Advisory Group and is a CNBC contributor. Each day The Boock Report provides summaries and commentary on the macro data and news that matter, with analysis of what it all means and how it fits together.