ADP jobs data shows tepid growth for December as mortgage rates fall to sub‑7% lows
The post ADP jobs data shows tepid growth for December as mortgage rates fall to sub‑7% lows appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
The average US mortgage rate for a 30-year mortgage dropped to 6.25%, the lowest it’s been since September, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) on Wednesday. The report says that for jumbo loans, which people use to buy pricier homes, the rate hit 6.32%, a level not seen since April 2023, said the report. Not that the housing market is exactly partying over it. The MBA’s purchase index actually fell 6.2%, seasonally adjusted. It’s holiday season, so things tend to dip, but still, lower rates didn’t push people to buy. Meanwhile, refinancing jumped by 7.4% on an adjusted basis. The MBA’s weekly survey pulls data from mortgage bankers, thrifts, and commercial banks, and it covers over 75% of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications. And while rates are easing, the reality is still tough: homebuyers are still dealing with heavy affordability problems. Hiring came from services but manufacturing dropped again December jobs data wasn’t thrilling, either. ADP says 41,000 private-sector jobs were added last month, a weak comeback from November’s 29,000 loss, a number that was actually revised up slightly from the earlier estimate of 32,000 lost. The new jobs didn’t meet the 48,000 forecast by Dow Jones, so once again, underperformance. Nearly all the new jobs came from services. Education and health added 39,000, leisure and hospitality brought in 24,000, and trade, transportation, and utilities chipped in 11,000. Even financial services added 6,000. That was the good part. Then came the losses: 29,000 jobs were cut from professional and business services, while information services shed 12,000. The goods-producing sector didn’t help either, with a total loss of 3,000, mostly because manufacturing jobs dropped by 5,000. Firms with fewer than 500 workers carried the whole month. Large employers barely showed up, adding just 2,000 jobs. Nela…
Filed under: News - @ January 7, 2026 2:26 pm