WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. private payrolls rose far less than expected in January, data showed on Wednesday, though the pace likely overstates the slowing labor market momentum.
Private payrolls increased by 107,000 jobs last month, the ADP National Employment Report showed on Wednesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast private payrolls rising 145,000. Data for December was revised lower to show 158,000 jobs added instead of 164,000 as previously reported.
The ADP report, jointly developed with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, was published ahead of the release on Friday of the Labor Department's more comprehensive and closely watched employment report for January.
The ADP report has been a poor gauge for predicting the private payrolls count in the employment report. Though job growth has slowed from the brisk pace seen in 2022, the labor market remains healthy. The Labor Department reported on Tuesday that there were 9.026 million job openings on the last day of December, with 1.44 positions for every unemployed person.
According to a Reuters survey of economists, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to report that private payrolls rose by 155,000 jobs in January. Total nonfarm payrolls are estimated to have increased by 180,000 jobs after rising 216,000 in the prior month.