US private sector hiring slows down in December
In December 2025, US private companies added just 41,000 jobs—falling short of the 47,000 expected and showing only a modest recovery after November's job losses.
The latest numbers come from ADP's National Employment Report.
Job growth was uneven across industries and business sizes
Some sectors did better than others: education and health services added 39,000 jobs, and leisure and hospitality gained 24,000.
The overall services sector bounced back with a gain of 44,000 jobs after losing ground last month.
Meanwhile, goods-producing industries lost another 3,000 jobs.
Small businesses managed to add 9,000 positions after big losses in November; medium-sized firms also improved a bit.
Large companies barely grew their workforce this time around.
Pay increases held steady
Even with slow hiring, paychecks kept up: people who stayed at their jobs saw a steady 4.4% annual pay bump—same as last month—while job-switchers got an average raise of 6.6%.
These trends were tracked by Stanford Digital Economy Lab using data from millions of workers ahead of the official government report due soon.