ADP Reports 534,000 New Private Sector Jobs in November

Talk about a nice improvement.

Key points

• Job growth is a key indicator of how well the U.S. economy is recovering.
• ADP reported 534,000 new positions in the private sector, with growth in small, mid-size, and large companies.

It's no secret the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a major toll on the U.S. economy. Things got so bad when the outbreak first erupted that lawmakers had to rush to provide aid to the public, including boosting unemployment benefits, letting homeowners pause their mortgage payments, and sending stimulus checks into Americans' bank accounts.

Thankfully, the situation has improved a lot this year. In recent months, the jobless rate has declined, and in November, it reached its lowest level since the pandemic began.

Meanwhile, job growth in November was pretty robust, according to ADP. Last month, 534,000 new private sector jobs were added to the economy. That's a sign things are headed in the right direction.

Which companies and industries saw the most growth?

Here's how private sector job growth for November breaks down by company size:

• Small businesses with one to 49 employees added 115,000 new jobs.
• Mid-sized businesses with 50 to 499 employees added 142,000 new jobs.
• Large companies with 500 or more employees added 277,000 new jobs.

Meanwhile, the service sector added 424,000 new jobs, while the goods-producing sector added 110,000.

Within the service sector, leisure and hospitality saw the most growth, with 136,000 new jobs. That sector, which includes restaurants, bars, and hotels, was among the hardest-hit during the pandemic, so it stands to reason that sector would have the most jobs to add. Still, professional and business service providers came in with 110,000 new jobs, while the education and health field added 55,000.

On the goods-producing sector side, construction led the pack with 52,000 new jobs in November. Manufacturing was a close second with 50,000 new positions. And trailing behind but adding jobs nonetheless was the natural resources and mining industry with 7,000 new roles.

Some disparity in data

While ADP reported 534,000 new jobs for the month of November, that figure was well above the 210,000 new nonfarm jobs reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Since ADP bases its data on payroll transactions and uses some different measures than the BLS does, it's not unusual for the two sources to put out conflicting numbers. What is a little surprising, though, is how far apart the two numbers are.

It's common for the BLS to adjust its reporting after putting out initial numbers, so we could see some movement in that regard. But still, the two sources have a pretty wide gap, and for the sake of the economy, we should hope that ADP's numbers are more spot-on.

What about stimulus aid?

In light of recent job growth, it's unlikely that Americans will be in line for a fourth stimulus check anytime soon. It's also unlikely we'll see workers on unemployment get any sort of boost to their benefits.

But again, the reason for this lack of aid stems from widespread economic improvement. And that's something we should be thankful for.