December ADP Breaks Out

Big news on private payrolls for December according to the ADP report…

Private-sector payrolls in the U.S. increased by 238,000 positions in December, according to the national employment report compiled by payroll processor Automatic Data Processing Inc. and forecasting firm Moody’s Analytics.

The gain is the highest ADP estimate since November 2012.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expected ADP to report a December increase of 200,000 jobs. The November ADP employment increase was revised up to 229,000 from 215,000 reported a month ago.

“Job gains are broad-based across industries, most notably in construction and manufacturing. It appears that businesses are growing more confident and increasing their hiring,” the report said.

Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the December Non Farm Payroll report on Friday (195k new jobs expected). Historically there is a pretty solid long-term correlation between ADP and BLS although on a monthly basis we sometimes see divergences. Markets are not thrilled by this news this morning because it probably solidifies the continuation of tapering. I’d rather see a subdued stock market and more people getting back to work – but that’s just me, what do I know?

Source:

ADP: Businesses Added 238,000 Jobs in December (WSJ)