US private-sector employment rose 153,000 jobs from November to December, according to the ADP national employment report. This is down from 215,000 jobs added in November.

December’s jobs gain was considerably below market expectations of 170,000 and came amid expectations for significantly stronger growth under the new president, CNBC reported.

“Job growth remains strong but is slowing,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. “The gap between employment growth in the service economy and losses on the goods side persists. Smaller companies are struggling to maintain payrolls while large companies are expanding at a healthy pace.”

The number of goods-producing jobs fell by 16,000, led by a loss of 9,000 manufacturing jobs. Service-providing jobs rose by 169,000, including 82,000 jobs in the trade, transportation and utilities sector and 29,000 jobs in education/health services.

“As we exit 2016, it’s interesting to note that the private sector generated an average of 174,000 jobs per month, down from 209,000 in 2015,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, VP and head of the ADP Research Institute. “And while job gains in December were slightly below our monthly average, the US labor market has experienced unprecedented seven years of growth that has brought us to near full employment. As we enter 2017, the tightening labor market will likely slow the growth.”  

Large businesses added 63,000 jobs in December. Midsize businesses added 71,000 jobs and small businesses added 18,000 jobs.

The ADP National Employment report is produced by ADP (NASD: ADP) in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics.