• The Washington Post this morning reports that "private payrolls tumbled by 301,000 in January, posting their biggest drop-off since the onset of the pandemic, as the omicron variant set off a spike in coronavirus cases, according to data released Wednesday.
"The unexpected findings by ADP — which had forecast a gain of 200,000 jobs for the month — represent the first time the payrolls processing firm has reported negative employment growth since December 2020 and the biggest decline in employment since spring 2020. They also cut against federal data showing more moderate losses. The wide variance suggests the labor market was more chaotic last month than previously thought."
The federal government is scheduled to release its own January jobs data tomorrow.
• The US Department of Labor this morning said that first-time unemployment claims last week dropped 23,000 from a revised 261,000 in the prior week, a reflection, MarketWatch says, of the fact that the omicron wave is receding and "more people were able to go back to work."
• Meijer said yesterday that it is partnering with the EVgo public fast charging network to open "the first EVgo public fast charging station at Meijer stores. EVgo’s latest stations with Meijer are part of EVgo and the retailer's previously announced partnership, and are capable of 100 kW to 350 kW fast charging.
"EVgo and Meijer's first sites under the partnership are in key Midwestern cities across Michigan and Ohio. The stations will add to the over 800 fast charging locations in EVgo’s network and build on its growing base of over 310,000 customer accounts – reflecting the company’s continued leadership in building out charging infrastructure and its mutually rewarding collaborations with retail site host partners."
• Albertsons announced that Curtis Mann, the companies’ group vice president of alcohol, is the first-ever US based retail executive to be recognized as a winner of the prestigious Taransaud Tonnellerie Award.
The award was presented to Mann at the 2021 Institute of Masters of Wine (IMW) Awards Ceremony, hosted in London, and is given to the Master of Wine who exhibits a deep understanding of the production and handling of wine.
