The U.S. economy added 208,000 jobs in the private sector in November, according to today’s employment report released by payroll-processing firm ADP and partner Moody's Analytics. ADP generally considers monthly gains of 200,000 jobs or more to be solid economic growth. November marks the third month of consecutive growth above that figure.
"November continued to show solid job growth above 200,000," said ADP president and CEO Carlos Rodriguez.
November's report falls below that of October, which recorded an upwardly revised gain of 233,000, and September, which reported an increase of 213,000.
"Steady as she goes in the job market. Monthly job gains remain consistently over 200,000," said Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi.
The construction industry added 17,000 jobs over the course of November, far below the previous month's reported gain of 27,000, which was the highest monthly gain in the industry since June.
The manufacturing industry also experienced stunted growth, only rising by 11,000 in November, below October's 13,000 and nearly a third of the growth experienced in September, which added 32,000 jobs. The September figure was the highest total gain in the manufacturing industry since March 2011.
The professional and business services sector, a broad category that most likely includes architects and engineers, added 37,000 jobs to the economy. This represents deflated growth in the sector, compared to October’s 49,000 and September's 50,000.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report is scheduled for release Friday morning and will provide more detailed information about the economic state of the construction and architecture fields.
Charts: Maggie Goldstone; Source: ADP, Moody's Analytics