The U.S. private sector added 118,000 jobs in November, according to data from human resources firm Automatic Data Processing (ADP).
Housing economists continue to argue that an industry recovery is dependent on an improving job market and an increase in employment rates.
Approximately 114,000 jobs were created in just the services sector, while the goods-producing sector increased payrolls by 4,000 positions.
Gains in construction jobs of 23,000 positions more than offset the 16,000-person decline in manufacturing employment.
ADP’s National Employment Report shows an increase of 118,000 new jobs in November. Year-to-date, employment gains averaged 135,000 jobs per month.
Trade/transportation/utilities services had the largest gain with 22,000 jobs added in November. Professional and business services gained 16,000 jobs and financial activities added 13,000 jobs for the month.
Larger firms were the top job creators with the development of 66,000 positions in November.
Small-size and medium-scale businesses launched 19,000 and 33,000 jobs, respectively.
Chief economist Mark Zandi of Moody’s Analytics said Hurricane Sandy harmed the job market in November, which cut an estimated 86,000 jobs from payrolls.
“The manufacturing, retailing, leisure and hospitality, and temporary help industries were hit particularly hard by the storm,” he said. “Abstracting from the storm, the job market turned in a good performance during the month.”
Zandi added, “This is especially impressive given the uncertainty created by the Presidential election and the fast-approaching fiscal cliff. Businesses appear to be holding firm on their hiring and firing decisions.”
