Even stock market woes and seasonal headwinds couldn't prevent U.S. employment rates from strengthening in nearly every sector in December, according to the ADP and Moody's Analytics National Employment Report.
The National Employment Report indicates that private sector employment increased 271,000 jobs from November to December.
The chart below demonstrates the rate of increase since 2013:
(Click to enlarge)
ADP Vice President and Co-head Ahu Yildirmaz said we wrapped up 2018 with another month of significant growth in the labor market.
“Although there were increases in most sectors, the busy holiday season greatly impacted both trade and leisure and hospitality,” Yildirmaz continued. “Small businesses also experienced their strongest month of job growth all year.”
The report indicated that construction jobs climbed once again, and overall the goods-producing sector is predicted to increase by a whopping 47,000 jobs.
Below is a breakdown of job segments that saw changes in employment between November and December:
Natural resources and mining: Decrease 2,000
Construction: Increase 37,000
Manufacturing: Increase 12,000
The service-providing sector is predicted to increase by 224,000 jobs, including:
Trade, transportation and utilities: Increase 33,000
Information: Increase 6,000
Financial activities: Increase 7,000
Professional and business services: Increase 66,000
Education and health services: Increase 61,000
Leisure and hospitality: Increase 39,000
Other services: Increase 12,000
“Businesses continue to add aggressively to their payrolls despite the stock market slump and the trade war,” Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi said. “Favorable December weather also helped lift the job market. At the current pace of job growth, low unemployment will get even lower.”
NOTE: This report is a monthly measure of the change in total U.S. non-farm private employment derived from actual, anonymous payroll data of client companies served by the company. The data is collected and processed with statistical methodologies similar to those used by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
