ADP’s Employment Report showed that private payrolls were weaker than forecasted in November with 103,000 jobs created. Almost all the job growth came in service-providing industries. Within that sector, leisure and hospitality lost 7,000 jobs.

What’s the bottom line? Nela Richardson, chief economist for ADP, noted that, “Restaurants and hotels were the biggest job creators during the post-pandemic recovery. But that boost is behind us,” signaling that the labor market is changing. Also of note, annual pay for job stayers increased 5.6% and job changers saw an average increase of 8.3%. These figures have cooled considerably from last year’s highs of 8% for job stayers and 16% for job changers, which is significant because it also suggests lower wage-pressured inflation.