US Private Payrolls Show Slower Growth in November

According to Yahoo News, U.S. private payrolls experienced a slower growth in November, indicating a gradual cooling of the labor market. The ADP National Employment Report revealed that private payrolls increased by 103,000 jobs last month, while data for October was revised lower to show 106,000 jobs added instead of the previously reported 113,000. Economists had predicted a rise of 130,000 private payrolls. The ADP report, developed in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, was released ahead of the Labor Department's more comprehensive and closely monitored employment report for November. However, the ADP report has not been a reliable indicator for predicting the private payrolls count in the employment report. The labor market is experiencing a steady slowdown following 525 basis points worth of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve since March 2022. The government reported that job openings dropped to a 2-1/2-year low of 8.733 million in October, with 1.34 vacancies for every unemployed person, the lowest since August 2021. A Reuters survey of economists anticipates the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics to report an increase of 153,000 private payrolls in November, as approximately 33,000 striking United Auto Workers union members returned to work. Private payrolls had increased by 99,000 in October. Total nonfarm payrolls are estimated to have risen by 180,000 in November, up from 150,000 in the previous month. The easing labor market conditions, combined with declining inflation, have led financial markets to believe that the Fed's monetary policy tightening campaign has ended and that the U.S. central bank could cut rates as early as next March. The Fed is expected to maintain rates unchanged next Wednesday.