Collected by the payroll processing firm ADP, the report has offered a more accurate first guess of the actual, final job numbers during the current economic crisis than has the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ initial release for the month. ADP has since switched its methodology a bit, but it’s definitely worth paying attention to.
The ADP figures for December came out Thursday morning and are rather encouraging. ADP estimates that we gained 215,000 jobs in December, far outpacing any recent months’ gains, and it also revised its November number from 118,000 jobs added to 148,000. Considering that Hurricane Sandy likely had a significant effect on the November numbers, that’s a very solid report — and one that gives more hope for a speedier recovery than we’ve seen in a while.
via ADP: Happy New Year! We gained 215,000 jobs in December..