Private payrolls tumbled by 301,000 in January, posting their biggest drop-off since the onset of the pandemic, as the omicron variant set off a spike in coronavirus cases, according to data released yesterday, the Washington Post reported. The unexpected findings by ADP — which had forecast a gain of 200,000 jobs for the month — represent the first time the payrolls processing firm has reported negative employment growth since December 2020 and the biggest decline in employment since spring 2020. They also cut against federal data showing more moderate losses. The wide variance suggests the labor market was more chaotic last month than previously thought. The federal government will offer its own snapshot of the labor market on Friday, when it releases January jobs data. Though ADP’s estimates often differ, the shift it documented yesterday — from a gain of 807,000 jobs one month, to a loss of 301,000 the next ― could reset expectations for the Labor Department’s report.
