US ADP report shows 271k growth in private sector jobs in December, up from 157k and beat expectation of 175k. Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute, said in the release that “we wrapped up 2018 with another month of significant growth in the labor market.” And, “Although there were increases in most sectors, the busy holiday season greatly impacted both trade and leisure and hospitality. Small businesses also experienced their strongest month of job growth all year.”
Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, said, “Businesses continue to add aggressively to their payrolls despite the stock market slump and the trade war. Favorable December weather also helped lift the job market. At the current pace of job growth, low unemployment will get even lower.”