"Small Non-Farm" ADP Employment Falls Short of Expectations, US Labor Market Continues to Slow

Odaily News US companies added fewer jobs than expected in January, indicating a continued slowdown in the labor market at the start of the year. Data from ADP Research on Wednesday showed that private sector employment increased by only 22,000 positions in January, falling short of market expectations, with the previous month's data revised downward. Due to a partial federal government shutdown, the official data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics has been delayed, making the ADP data likely the most comprehensive reference for the January labor market this week. Despite some signs of stabilization in recent months, the lower-than-expected private sector job growth suggests the labor market continued to cool in January. ADP data shows that education and healthcare services led hiring growth, while the decline in professional/business services employment was the largest since June of last year. (Jin10)