ADP says 307,000 private-sector jobs were created in the U.S. in November.
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American corporations and small businesses created 307,000 private-sector jobs in November, ADP said Wednesday, marking the slowest increase in four months and suggesting a record increase in coronavirus cases has hurt hiring.
The increase fell well short of the 440,000 forecast of economists surveyed by Econoday.
The disappointing number published by Automatic Payroll Processing is the latest sign that hiring has slowed after a surge in coronavirus cases.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday is expected to report its official estimate of how many total jobs were created in November.
Although the ADP and BLS estimates move in the same direction over time, there are often large gaps from month to month. That’s especially been the case during the pandemic.
In October, the private sector added a revised 404,000 jobs, the giant payroll processor said. ADP initially put its estimate at 365,000.
U.S. stock markets were set to open slightly lower in Wednesday trades, premarket action showed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
is not far from a record high, however.