US private hiring surges to 202,000 in December: ADP

[WASHINGTON] American companies ramped up hiring in the final month of 2019, posting the biggest gain in eight months, according to data Wednesday from payrolls firm ADP.

Private firms added 202,000 employees in December, far more than expected, boosted by a big gains in trade, transportation and utilities, professional and business services and construction, according to the report.

But manufacturing employment fell by 7,000, more than erasing the modest gain for that sector in November.

Still, the total gain, as well as those for the goods producing sector and dominant services firms, all posted their biggest increases since April 2019.

And an upward revision nearly doubled November's estimate to 124,000 positions, pointing to persistent strength in hiring.

"Job creation was strong across companies of all sizes, led predominantly by midsized companies," Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute, said in a statement.

The data is closely scrutinised for signals on the all-important government employment report that is due out on Friday. The two are frequently out of step, however.

The service sector added 173,000 new employees last month, while goods producing firms gained 29,000, with the 37,000 increase in construction workers offset by the decline in manufacturing jobs.

However, there are some signs of moderation in the data, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, which helps produce the report.

"Looking through the monthly vagaries of the data, job gains continue to moderate," he said in a statement.

"Manufacturers, energy producers and small companies have been shedding jobs. Unemployment is low, but will begin to rise if job growth slows much further."

AFP