Businesses added 215,000 jobs in Dec., survey shows
MIKE SEGAR / Reuters
Job seekers stand in line to meet with prospective employers at a career fair in New York City in this file photo taken October 24, 2012.
The jobs picture looked a bit brighter Thursday after two pieces of data showed businesses picked up hiring and cut back on layoffs in December.
U.S. private-sector employers added 215,000 jobs last month, well above economists' expectations, a report by payrolls processor ADP showed. And planned layoffs dropped for the first time in four months, according to a separate report from consultants Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
Jobless claims bucked the trend by rising in the latest week, but the data was distorted by the holidays.
"All the labor market data….has held up very, very well so (there is) no sign of the fiscal cliff impact on the job market," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.
MIKE SEGAR / Reuters
Job seekers stand in line to meet with prospective employers at a career fair in New York City in this file photo taken October 24, 2012.
The jobs picture looked a bit brighter Thursday after two pieces of data showed businesses picked up hiring and cut back on layoffs in December.
U.S. private-sector employers added 215,000 jobs last month, well above economists' expectations, a report by payrolls processor ADP showed. And planned layoffs dropped for the first time in four months, according to a separate report from consultants Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
Jobless claims bucked the trend by rising in the latest week, but the data was distorted by the holidays.
"All the labor market data….has held up very, very well so (there is) no sign of the fiscal cliff impact on the job market," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.
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