WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The U.S. private payrolls rose more than anticipated in December. This indicates that the underlying strength of the labor market at 2021 is evident.

According to the ADP National Employment Report, private payrolls increased by 807,000 last month. The revised data for November showed that 505,000 new jobs were added, instead of 534,000 as originally reported. Reuters economists had predicted that the private sector would add 400,000 jobs to its payrolls.

Mid-December was the peak time for COVID-19, which were driven by Omicron variants, to be on the rise across the nation. Economists anticipate some disruption by the winter-wave infected, although not to the same extent as the last summer.

Moody’s Analytics (NYSE:) Analytics jointly created the ADP report. It was released before Friday’s Labor Department’s comprehensive, closely-watched 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.

Economists predict that December will witness an increase in employment growth.

Between mid-November to mid-December, the number of first-time applicants for unemployment benefits fell significantly. In December, the Institute for Supply Management measured factory employment at an eight month high. However, manufacturers noted an improvement in labor supply.

An economist survey by Reuters found that December saw a 365,000 job increase in private payrolls. Nonfarm payrolls will increase by around 400,000 jobs. In November, the economy added 210,000 jobs.

The labor market’s recovery is hindered by worker shortages. On Tuesday, the government announced that 10.6 million jobs were available at the end November.

In November, there were some signs that Americans who were unemployed were slowly returning to work. However, the coronavirus epidemics could make it impossible for many to return home.