The health / education sector took a hit in January, with 20,000 jobs added to the sector out of 183,000 private-sector jobs added overall, according to the latest monthly ADP National Employment Report Economy Lab report, released Wednesday.

The January number compares with health / education increases of 57,000 jobs in December and 50,000 jobs in November. 

The report, which analyzes the payroll transactions of more than 25 million US workers, is produced by the ADP Research Institute in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab.

Overall, the number of jobs added in January accelerated from the 122,000 jobs added in December and 146,000 jobs added in November.

“We had a strong start to 2025, but it masked a dichotomy in the labor market,” ADP Chief Economist Nela Richardson said in press release issued in conjunction with the report. “Consumer-facing industries drove hiring, while job growth was weaker in business services and production.”

Medium-sized firms (defined as having 50 to 499 employees) gained the most jobs in January, 92,000. Large companies (those with 500 or more employees) gained 69,000 jobs last month, and small companies (one to 49 employees) added 39,000 jobs.

Pay gains

Year-over-year pay growth for job-stayers was 4.7% year over year. That amount is slightly better than December’s figure, which at 4.6% put pay growth at the lowest point since July 2021.

For job-changers, pay rose 6.8%, marking a slight decline in acceleration from December.