Private-sector employment grew by 257,000 jobs from November to December on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to an employment report released today by payroll-processing company ADP and its partner Moody's Analytics. This figure is a significant jump from the downwardly revised gains of 211,000 jobs in November and 173,000 jobs in October.
"2015 had a strong close with December showing the largest job gains of the year," Ahu Yildirmaz, vice-president and head of the ADP Research Institute, said in a press release. Average employment growth was just under 200,000 per month for the year, falling under 2014's figure of 240,000 jobs per month.
"Strong job growth shows no signs of abating," Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi said in the press release. "The only industry shedding jobs is energy."
The construction industry grew by 24,000 jobs in December, which is slightly above the 21,000 average monthly gain for the year. Meanwhile, the manufacturing sector remained in positive territory for the second consecutive month, adding 2,000 jobs in December. Professional and business services, a category that includes architecture and engineering firms, contributed 66,000 jobs, the largest increase in the category this year.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled to release its December jobs report on Friday, which will provide more details about job growth in the architecture, engineering, and construction market.
