US private employers added 41,000 jobs in December 2025, according to the ADP National Employment Report released on January 7, 2026, marking a rebound from November’s revised decline of 29,000 jobs.346 Job openings in November fell to 7.146 million, the lowest level in 14 months, while hiring slowed and layoffs remained historically low, indicating a "low-hire, low-fire" labor market.2610

• The December ADP report showed modest job growth, below the 47,000 forecast, with gains driven by education and health services (39,000) and leisure and hospitality (24,000), while professional and business services lost 29,000 jobs.234

• Small businesses recovered from prior losses with positive hiring, while large employers pulled back, according to ADP’s chief economist Nela Richardson.34

• The November JOLTS report revealed a 303,000 decline in job openings, the lowest since September 2024, with the overall job openings rate falling to 4.3% from 4.5% in October.67

• Hiring dropped to 5.115 million in November, with the hiring rate slipping to 3.2%, matching a more than decade-low outside the pandemic, while quits rose slightly to 3.161 million but remained at a low 2.0% rate.26

• Layoffs decreased to 1.687 million, suggesting employers are holding onto workers despite weak labor demand, possibly due to policy uncertainty around tariffs and AI integration.610

• The federal government added 11,000 jobs in November, while state and local government vacancies declined; construction and retail saw job posting increases likely tied to holiday hiring.26

• Economists expect the official BLS nonfarm payrolls report for December to show around 60,000–73,000 jobs added, with unemployment projected to edge down to 4.5%.36