ADP: U.S. gained 238,000 jobs in Dec.
The nation’s job market ended 2013 with a bang, gaining 238,000 private-sector jobs in December, the best performance in any of the last 12 months, payroll processor ADP said today.
The company’s president and CEO, Carlos Rodriguez, called the performance “encouraging news that hopefully bodes well for 2014."
The report far exceeded the expectations of analysts polled by Yahoo, who had forecast gains of between 185,000 and 203,000 jobs. The ADP report bodes well for widely watched monthly report by the federal government on the job market, which will be released Friday morning. If the numbers are similar, that could drop the nation’s unemployment rate to below 7 percent, a level not seen in more than five years.
More than 70 percent of the new jobs – about 170,000 - were created in the service sector, led by a gain of 53,000 positions in professional and business services. The financial sector added 10,000 jobs. However, the gain in service-sector jobs for December was down about 12,000 from November, ADP said.
Meanwhile, goods-producing industries added 69,000 jobs in December, about 50 percent higher than the 46,000 that were added in December. The construction industry led the way with its best month since 2006, with a gain of 48,000 jobs, helped in part by a recovery in the housing market, ADP noted.
Throughout 2013, goods-producing industries added 286,000 jobs, with close to three-quarters coming from the construction sector, ADP said.
Meanwhile, manufacturers had a strong month, with a gain of 19,000 jobs, although ADP said the growth last month in manufacturing slowed slightly.
Business size also figured prominently in the ADP report: More than 45 percent of the job gains came from small businesses, those with less than 50 employees.
Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, which collaborates with ADP on its monthly survey and report, called the December numbers meaningful. “It appears that businesses are growing more confident and increasing their hiring,” he said.
(Image credit: freedigitalphotos.net)
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