ADP Employment Report

Employment in the US private sector grew by 130,000 in the first month of the year, according to the ADP report released today. Economists had been expecting a number closer to 70,000 new jobs.

Service-oriented employment grew by 141,000, while manufacturing employment held steady after 18 straight months of decline. The one negative came in the goods-producing sector, where a decline of 11,000 was reported.

The number is certainly not one indicative of a deteriorating economy. Taking recent economic indicators into account, recession worries may seem a little overblown at the moment.


Note: Public Sector employment is not covered by the report, suggesting that the jobs market in January may be even more positive than reported.