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Economic Watch: December Job Creation Highest Since June

A new report released ahead of government numbers set to be published Friday shows private sector, nonfarm employment in the U.S. increased by 241,000 jobs from November to December, the biggest gain since June.

by Evan Lockridge
January 7, 2015
Economic Watch: December Job Creation Highest Since June

 

2 min to read


A new report released ahead of government numbers set to be published Friday shows private-sector, nonfarm employment in the U.S. increased by 241,000 jobs from November to December, the biggest gain since June.

"At the current pace of job growth, the economy will be back to full employment by this time next year.”

The ADP National Employment Report also shows goods-producing employment rose by 46,000 jobs in December, up from 40,000 jobs gained in November. The construction industry added 23,000 jobs, up from last month’s gain of 20,000, while manufacturing added 26,000 jobs in December, well above November’s 16,000 and the second-highest monthly total of 2014 in that sector.

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Service-providing employment rose by 194,000 jobs in December, up from 187,000 in November.

The November total of jobs added was revised upward, from 208,000 reported a month ago to 227,000.

The report indicates that professional/business services contributed 69,000 jobs in December. Expansion in trade/transportation/utilities grew by 44,000, down from November’s 54,000. The 16,000 new jobs added in financial activities was well above last month’s 5,000 and represented the largest monthly gain for 2014 in that sector.

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“The job market continues to power forward,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. “Businesses across all industries and sizes are adding to payrolls. At the current pace of job growth, the economy will be back to full employment by this time next year.”

"December delivered another strong number well above 200,000 to close out a solid year of employment growth with over two and a half million jobs added,” said Carlos Rodriguez, president and chief executive officer of ADP. “Small businesses continued to lead the way, but mid-sized and large companies also showed solid gains.”

The ADP National Employment Report is derived from data from the payroll processor ADP, which represents 411,000 U.S. clients employing nearly 24 million workers in the U.S.

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