ADP said 170k private sector jobs were added in Jan, 12k below estimates and Dec was revised down by 33k to 292k. The Dec figure though is still well above the Government Payroll figure of 212k reported last month. Also, ADP reported a 204k job gain in Dec while the Government said it was 120k. Thus, the discrepancy remains between the two data points month to month but over time they come close after revisions. Getting into the details of the report, the Goods producing sector added 18k jobs, 10k of which were in manufacturing and construction added 2k. The Service providing job gains totaled 152k led as usual by small and medium sized businesses. Bottom line, the 170k figure compares to the 2011 monthly average of 160k and thus points to a continued recovery but the mediocre pace this far into a recovery still remains frustrating. Friday’s estimate for private sector payroll gains are 165k, about in line with today’s report. Overall gains are expected to total 145k as the government sector continues to shed jobs.
What's been said:
Discussions found on the web: