Private sector employment in the U.S. increased by less than expected in the month of December, according to a report released by payroll processor ADP.
The report said private sector employment rose by 122,000 jobs in December after climbing by 146,000 jobs in November. Economists had expected private sector employment to grow by 140,000 jobs.
ADP said hiring slowed in several industries, while employment in the manufacturing sector shrank for the third straight month.
“The labor market downshifted to a more modest pace of growth in the final month of 2024, with a slowdown in both hiring and pay gains,” said ADP Chief Economist Nela Richardson.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department released a report unexpectedly showing another modest decrease by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended January 4th.
The report said initial jobless claims slipped to 201,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 211,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 218,000.
With the unexpected dip, jobless claims fell to their lowest level since hitting 200,000 in the week ended February 17, 2004.
At 10 am ET, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release its report on wholesale inventories in the month of November. Wholesale inventories are expected to dip to by 0.2 percent.
The Energy Information Administration is due to release its report on oil inventories in the week ended January 3rd at 10:30 am ET. Crude oil inventories are expected to edged down by 0.3 million barrels after falling by 1.2 million barrels in the previous week.
At 1 pm ET, the Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the results of this month’s auction of $22 billion worth of thirty-year bonds.
The Federal Reserve is due to release the minutes its latest monetary policy meeting held December 17-18 at 2 pm ET.
At 3 pm ET, the Fed is scheduled to release its report on consumer credit in the month of November. Consumer credit is expected to increase by $10.5 billion in November after jumping by $19.2 billion in October.