Companies added a seasonally adjusted 122,000 jobs for the month, down from 146,000 additions in November and less than the Dow Jones consensus forecast for 136,000.A worker adjusts hiring signage at a job and resource fair hosted by the Mountain Area Workforce Development Board in partnership with NCWorks in Hendersonville, North Carolina, US, on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024.
The ADP report comes two days ahead of the more closely watched nonfarm payrolls count from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect that report to show a gain of 155,000, which in itself would mark a sharp slowdown fromFederal Reserve policymakers are watching the jobs numbers closely as they plot their next moves for monetary policy.