WASHINGTON (Reuters] – U.S. Private Payrolls Unexpectedly Fall in January Due to a resurgence COVID-19 Infections disrupting business Activity, The ADP National Employment Report revealed on Wednesday.

The ADP report stated that private payrolls saw a decrease of jobs over the past month. Dec. data showed 776,000 new jobs, instead of originally estimated 807,000. Reuters economists had predicted that private payrolls would rise by 207,000 positions, according to Reuters.

“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 to job growth,” Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, said in the report.

Moody’s Analytics jointly created the ADP report. It was released before Friday’s Labor Department’s comprehensive, closely monitored employment report. However, it has a bad record of predicting private payrolls in the Bureau of Labor Statistics employment report. This is due to methodology differences.

According to economists, nonfarm payrolls may have increased slightly or dropped in January following the Omicron-driven coronavirus outbreaks that ravaged the nation.

In mid-January the Census Bureau published its Household Pulse Survey. 8.8 Million people said they were not at work between Dec. 29, and Jan. 10, according to this survey.

In the BLS’ survey on establishments, people who have been out sick or placed in quarantine but do not get paid are considered unemployed.

An economist survey conducted by Reuters found that the nonfarm payrolls rose 150,000 jobs between January and February. December saw 199,000 new jobs, which is the lowest number in one year.

The White House has worked tirelessly to prepare the nation in anticipation of a disappointed number. Several officials have offered a sneak peek at the final report.

Jared Bernstein of White House Council of Economic Advisers said this week, “I think that the key point is, from our viewpoint, the underlying strength of economic,” CNN reported. As we can see, caseloads are increasing, so the underlying strength in the job market continues.

According to Reuters, the average number of coronavirus infection cases in America is 461,097 per day. This contrasts with mid-January’s more than 700,000.

With fewer people available, the demand is high for labor. At December’s end, there were 10.9million job opportunities.

The Omicron wave has subsided and first-time applicants for unemployment benefits are down from three months highs.