ADP's latest report showed a total that was nearly triple what economists were expecting. It's only one month's data, and it's too soon to call it a hiring boom. However, the report offers more hope and some evidence that the nation's long job drought is ending.
The Dow jumped skyward on Wednesday as stocks rallied around the globe on a stream of strong economic news, both abroad and in the U.S. A less anxious outlook for European sovereign debt also helped.
ADP reported the biggest private sector job gain in three years, and it revised October's total to 82,000 -- nearly double the initial estimate. A retrenchment is always possible, but it now appears that the long period of job losses is ending.
The long period of large monthly losses appears to be ending, as the private sector added 43,000 jobs in October, according to ADP's latest report. And September's job loss was greatly revised, from an initial estimate of 39,000 down to just 2,000.
U.S. employment suffered another setback as the private sector unexpectedly cut 10,000 jobs in August, ADP announced Wednesday. A Bloomberg survey had forecast that private employers would add 17,000 jobs in the month
The latest report beat the expected increase of 35,000 new jobs, and July marks the sixth straight month of private sector additions. However, it's a rather slack pace, averaging only 37,000 jobs per month.
Automatic Data Processing, a large provider of HR, payroll and benefits administration services, has bought Cobalt, which offers Web marketing services to auto dealers. The $400 million deal helps boost ADP's own dealer-services business and combat tough times in the sector.
Employment just can't get cranked up: ADP reports that the private sector added a scant 13,000 jobs in June, well below expectations. Ominously, the firm notes that "private employment may have decelerated heading into summer."
The ADP private sector report showed a gain of 65,000 jobs, just under the 70,000 analysts expected. And the latest weekly unemployment claims showed a 10,000 drop, just under the estimate of 13,000. Numbers are going the right way, but slowly.
The deep freeze in U.S. employment continues to slowly thaw as the private sector added 32,000 jobs in April, following a revised gain of 19,000 jobs in March -- up from the initial report's decline of 23,000 -- according to data compiled in the ADP National Employment Report.
The private sector cut just 22,000 jobs in January, ADP said -- another sign that U.S. labor markets continue to heal. Also, midsize companies added 9,000 employees -- the first job increase in that category in two years.
