ROSELAND, N.J. – Hiring at U.S. companies accelerated last month, in a preliminary report released today by ADP Employer Services.
Nonfarm private employment grew by a seasonally adjusted 189,000 jobs from October to November, after rising a revised 119,000 jobs the month before. The October increase was 13,000 greater than the payroll services company’s initial estimate for the month.
Job growth last month was more than triple the 50,000-job median prediction from a Bloomberg News survey of 22 economists. It exceeded even the most optimistic of their forecasts, which ranged from 10,000 to 100,000 additional positions.
The monthly report, jointly produced by ADP and Macroeconomic Advisers LLC of St. Louis, is based on a survey of nearly 400,000 ADP customers nationwide that represent nearly 23 million U.S. employees.
“The strength in employment during November was fairly broad-based,” ADP analysts said in their report. “Even in manufacturing, construction and financial services – sectors where employment has been under downward pressure – there are signs of accelerating employment.”
November’s gains were concentrated in small and mid-sized businesses, which added 159,000 jobs over the month: 77,000 at small businesses with 49 or fewer workers and 82,000 at mid-sized businesses with 50 to 499 workers. But employment also rose at businesses with more than 499 workers, which added 30,000 positions last month, ending five straight months of declines.
Overall employment in the service-producing sector rose by 197,000 positions last month: 75,000 at small businesses, 90,000 at mid-sized businesses and 30,000 at large businesses.
In the goods-producing sector, employment declined by 8,000 positions as a 2,000-job gain at small employers was more than offset by declines of 8,000 at mid-sized companies and 2,000 at large companies. Manufacturing employment declined by 5,000 workers nationwide.
“Two sectors of the economy hit hardest by recent problems in mortgage markets have been residential construction and financial activities related to home sales and mortgage lending,” the ADP analysts noted. “Today’s data suggest that in these two crucial sectors, employment may be stabilizing.
“In November, construction employment fell for the 12th consecutive month, but November’s decline of 6,000 was the smallest since January. Furthermore, construction employment ... has become less negative in each of the last three months. Employment in financial activities, which declined by 16,000 from July through October, reversed course and grew 10,000 in November.”
Meanwhile, employment growth in the temporary staffing industry stabilized last month after surging in September and October, the American Staffing Association said in a separate report.
After surging to a record high of 110 points in the weeks ended Oct. 21 and 28, the ASA Staffing Index dipped to 109 points the week ended Nov. 4 and remained at that level at least until Nov. 18, the association said. The index was launched in the summer of 2006.
“Businesses have had trouble finding skilled workers and the labor market is still fairly tight,” Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wachovia Corp. in Charlotte, N.C., told Bloomberg News.
ADP Employment Services – a division of Automatic Data Processing Inc. (NYSE: ADP) – handles payroll for 1 in 6 private-sector employees nationwide. For more information, including the monthly ADP National Employment Report, visit www.adp.com.
The American Staffing Association is a trade group whose members represent more than 85 percent or U.S. staffing industry sales. Its monthly ASA Staffing Index is based on data gathered by research firm iLoyalty. To learn more, visit americanstaffing.net.
