ADP News Release (01/06/15)

Private sector employment increased by 257,000 jobs from November to December, according to Automatic Data Processing. Goods-producing employment rose by 23,000 jobs in December, well up from a downwardly revised negative 2,000 in November. The construction industry added 24,000 jobs, which was roughly in line with the 21,000 average monthly jobs gained for the year. Meanwhile, manufacturing stayed in positive territory for the second consecutive month, adding 2,000 jobs. Service-providing employment rose by 234,000 jobs in December, up from an upwardly revised 213,000 in November.

“Strong job growth shows no signs of abating,” says Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. “The only industry shedding jobs is energy. If this pace of job growth is sustained, which seems likely, the economy will be back to full employment by mid-year. This is a significant achievement, given that the last time the economy was at full employment was nearly a decade ago.”