Private Sector Employment Increased Whopping 215,000 in December

2001-12 Change in Total Nonfarm Private Employment

Private sector employment increased by 215,000 jobs from November to December, according to the December ADP National Employment Report®, which is produced by Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP®), a leading provider of human capital management solutions, in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics. The report, which is derived from ADP’s actual payroll data, measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally-adjusted basis. The November 2012 report, which reported job gains of 118,000, was revised upward by 30,000 to 148,000 jobs.

Goods-producing employment rose by 28,000 jobs in December as a large gain in construction jobs of 39,000 more than offset the 11,000 decline in manufacturing employment. Service-providing jobs increased by 187,000. Among the service industries reported by the ADP National Employment Report, trade/transportation/utilities services had the largest gain with 53,000 jobs added over the month. Professional/business services added 37,000 jobs and financial activities added 14,000 jobs in December.
Carlos A. Rodriguez, president and chief executive officer of ADP, said, “During the final month of 2012, U.S. private sector employment ended the year on a positive note as 215,000 jobs were added – the ADP National Employment Report’s largest monthly gain since February 2012. During the past year, the private sector added a total of more than 1.7 million jobs.”

Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, said, “The job market held firm in December despite the intensifying fiscal cliff negotiations in Washington. Businesses even became somewhat more aggressive in their hiring at year end. Most encouraging is the revival in construction jobs, although the December gain was likely lifted by rebuilding after Superstorm Sandy. The job market ended 2012 on a more solid footing.”

Businesses with 49 or fewer employees added 25,000 jobs in December. Employment levels among medium-sized companies with 50-499 employees rose by 102,000, while employment at large companies – those with 500 or more employees – increased by 87,000.