The U.S. economy lost more than 300,000 nonfarm private jobs in January, the first time the economy has lost jobs in more than a year, according to the ADP and Moody’s Analytics monthly report released Wednesday.
ADP chief economist Nela Richardson attributed the drop to the COVID-19 Omicron variant, calling the setback “significant, though likely temporary.”
The service-providing sector sustained the biggest losses in January, contracting 274,000 jobs. Within that sector, leisure/hospitality absorbed 154,000 of the losses, according to the report. Trade/transportation/utilities lost 62,000 as well.
The loss of 301,000 jobs was spread across all size sectors, but small businesses took the biggest hit, shedding 144,000, The smallest companies, those with less than 20 employees, eliminated 106,000 jobs.
“Leisure and hospitality saw the largest setback after substantial gains in fourth-quarter 2021, while small businesses were hit hardest by losses, erasing most of the job gains made in December 2021,” Richardson said in a statement.
Large companies, those with 500 or more employees, lost 98,000 jobs while medium businesses, with between 50 to 499 workers, lost 59,000 jobs, according to the report.
“The labor market recovery took a step back at the start of 2022 due to the effect of the Omicron variant and its significant, though likely temporary, impact on job growth,” Richardson said. “The majority of industry sectors experienced job loss, marking the most recent decline since December 2020.”
The Labor Department will release its employment report on Friday.
Copyright 2022 United Press International, Inc. (UPI). Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI’s prior written consent.
—-
This content is published through a licensing agreement with Acquire Media using its NewsEdge technology.
The destruction of the economy is coming fast. No microchips for new cars being assembled, thus these cars are sitting for months and then the auto industry is destroying those cars. The auto industry and its suppliers will eventually collapse. Used cars are selling for the price of new cars. Thus, many people who could only afford used cars in the past, can no longer afford them. We are going to fall into a giant depression, all because of the communist Biden and things we need in this country, being manufactured by communist China.
ITS all trump’s fault. That damn white supremacist.
RHEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!
We have a blanket explanation for everything that goes wrong anymore—COVID. Government incompetence is a thing of the past now—just lay it all on COVID.
And Facebook activity dropped for the first time on record, which means maybe these fools as well can join the real world of the unemployment and American suffering they helped to create.
These job losses sustained were Omicron related only to the extent that Biden tried closing a hundred million government job related people out of work who refused to mask up and get their RNA (Ribonucleic acid, the cornerstone composition of your own personal DNA) altered in more experimental vaccines that by definition are not vaccine cures but COVID delaying palliatives that cure not long term but only delay the inevitable. and have to be repeatedly boosted. The Supremes shot him down, but the damage was done, and it will take time to fix what Joe has already broken. THE PEOPLE are refusing to be used and abused and would rather eat dirt than the Democrat human excrement Joe now puts on their plates.
omicron- meaning soul destroyer was manufactured via our tax dollars to aid in the rise of power for the demonicrats. That is how they know that there will be other variants because their plans for the destruction of America revolves around that language. Like Greece, America is declining and democrats causing internal wars like Greece is weakening Americas power and if not kept in check will result in the democrats aka: Alexander The Great destroying us. Lack of unity destroyed Greece and it will destroy us.