Categories: EmploymentRetirement Planning and Investing

U.S. Companies Added 238,000 Jobs in December, ADP Reports

U.S. Companies Added 238,000 Jobs in December, ADP Reports (Bloomberg)

U.S. companies added more workers than projected in December amid rising optimism about the prospects for demand, according to a private report on payrolls. The 238,000 increase in employment was the biggest since November 2012 and followed a revised 229,000 gain in November that was better than initially estimated, concluded ADP Research Institute in Roseland, N.J. The December numbers exceeded the most optimistic forecast in a Bloomberg survey in which the median projection called for a 200,000 advance. A pickup in hiring, with rising wages, are helping to spur growth in consumer purchases. A Labor Department report this week may show private payrolls rose by 197,000 last month, according to the Bloomberg survey median.

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Paul Dykewicz

Paul Dykewicz is the editor of StockInvestor.com and the editorial director of Eagle Financial Publications in Washington, D.C. He writes and edits for the website, as well as edits investment newsletters, time-sensitive trading alerts and other reports published by Eagle. He also is an accomplished, award-winning journalist who has written for Dow Jones, USA Today and other publications, as well as served as business editor of a daily newspaper in Baltimore. In addition, Paul is the author of the inspirational book, "Holy Smokes! Golden Guidance from Notre Dame's Championship Chaplain." He received his MBA in finance from Johns Hopkins University, where he was a two-time president of the school's Finance Club. In addition, Paul has a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a master's degree in journalism from Michigan State University. Outside of work, Paul volunteers with a faith-based organization to assist the poor in Southeast Washington, D.C., to learn personal finance skills to lift themselves out of debt.