U.S. private sector adds 103,000 jobs in November as hiring slows

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Private companies in the United States added 103,000 jobs in November, indicating slowing job growth in a cooling labor market, payroll data company Automatic Data Processing (ADP) reported Wednesday.

"Restaurants and hotels were the biggest job creators during the post-pandemic recovery," said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP. "But that boost is behind us."

"The return to trend in leisure and hospitality suggests the economy as a whole will see more moderate hiring and wage growth in 2024," said Richardson.

In November, the goods-producing sector lost 14,000 jobs, with a decline of 15,000 jobs in manufacturing. In the service-providing sector, 117,000 jobs were added, with declines in professional/business services (-5,000) and leisure/hospitality (-7,000), the report showed.

Job growth in the private sector totaled a downwardly revised 106,000 in October, the report showed.

Job-stayers saw a 5.6 percent pay increase in November, the slowest pace of gains since September 2021, according to the report. Job-changers, too, saw slowing pay growth. The premium for switching jobs is at the smallest in three years of data.