The health/education sector added 17,000 jobs in January, and median pay increased 5.9% for people who stayed in jobs in the sector, according to the ADP National Employment Report, released Wednesday.
Overall, private-sector employment added 107,000 jobs in January, and annual pay was up 5.2% year over year.
The report was produced by the ADP Research Institute in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab.
“Progress on inflation has brightened the economic picture despite a slowdown in hiring and pay,” ADP Chief Economist Nela Richardson said in a press release issued in conjunction with publication of the report. “Wages adjusted for inflation have improved over the past six
months, and the economy looks like it’s headed toward a soft landing in the US and globally.”
The National Employment Report analyzes the payroll transactions of more than 25 million US workers. The data showed a service sector gain of 77,000 jobs overall in January. The biggest gains in the sector in January were seen in leisure / hospitality, which saw the addition of 28,000 jobs added.
Regionally, the biggest gains in January were in the South, with 57,000 jobs added. Private employers in the Northeast gained 32,000 jobs, followed by the Midwest with 24,000 jobs added and the West with a gain of just 2,000 jobs for the month.
Medium-sized firms (with 50 to 499 employees) gained the most jobs last month, with 61,000 jobs added. Large establishments (with 500 or more employees) gained 31,000 jobs, and small companies (with one to 49 employees) gained 25,000 jobs.
Pay gains continued to shrink
“Year-over-year pay gains for job-stayers reached 5.2% in January, down from 5.4% in
December. For job-changers, pay was up 7.2%, the smallest annual gain since May 2021, according to the report.
Companies with one to 19 employees saw the smallest median change in annual pay, at 4.5%. The change was 5.4% for firms with 20 to 49 employees, 5.5% for employers with 50 to 249 workers, 5.5% for companies with 250 to 499 employees and 5.1% at firms with 500 or more workers.
Read more workforce-related news here.
