Small businesses surprise: paychecks increase for the first time in five months, while ADP reports 41,000 new jobs

Small Businesses Make the Pay Move on the Compensation Front

The ADP National Employment Report for December brings encouraging news from the private labor market: 41,000 new jobs were created in the past month, marking a significant rebound after the decline in November. Particularly surprising is the dynamic of small businesses, which recorded the first increase in paychecks in five months—a sign of strengthening labor demand in the most dynamic segment of the economy.

Medium-sized Companies Drive Employment Growth

December’s employment growth was primarily supported by medium-sized companies, which added 34,000 positions. This segment employs between 50 and 499 employees and is characterized by greater adaptability and innovation. Small businesses contributed 9,000 new jobs, confirming a recovery in the SME segment, while large organizations added 2,000 units to their organizational structure.

Employment in Positive Territory: What It Means for the Market

Analysis of data from the previous three months shows an average of about 20,000 jobs added per month—a figure that represents a trend reversal compared to November, when the market experienced its first decline since August 2020. Data from August and September, initially depressed, were attributed to annual recalculations of previous periods. This rebound suggests that the private labor market is consolidating an expansion phase after the volatility of recent months.