:0corn
The private sector created an eye-popping 297,000 jobs from November to December, according a report from ADP that was the highest number the payroll firm has ever reported.
In its monthly report compiled with Macroeconomic Advisors, ADP said the service sector accounted for the bulk of the creation, with 270,000 jobs while goods producers supplied the remaining 27,000.
The number was far higher than the 100,000 economists expected the ADP report to show and sets the stage for what could be a positive surprise Friday when the government releases its monthly nonfarm jobs report. That report is expected to show 140,000 jobs were created.
The optimistic report came shortly after news that planned layoffs in the US declined in December to the lowest monthly level of 2010, while expected job cuts for the full year came in at the lowest mark since 1997, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas reported Wednesday.
Companies reported 32,004 planned layoffs last month, down 34 percent from November and 29 percent from December 2009.
That was the lowest number of planned cuts since June 2000.
For 2010, companies announced 529,973 job cuts, down 59 percent from announced layoffs in 2009.
?The downsizing phase of the recession really came to an end in 2009," John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a press release. "Job cutting fell dramatically in the second half of that year. The pace of downsizing continued to slow in 2010 to levels we have not seen since before the 2001 recession."
The government and non-profit sector saw the largest cuts, with 142,255 jobs eliminated.
"Unfortunately, the government sector is likely to see heavy job cuts again in 2011 as the budget shortfalls that existed in 2010 continue into the new year," John Challenger said.
"In fact, the sector could see an increase in job cuts in 2011 as state and local agencies, which saw the heaviest downsizing last year, are joined by federal agencies under increasing pressure from a Congress determined to cut spending."
The auto industry saw layoffs decline 91 percent last year, while retailers cut 61 percent fewer jobs than in 2009.
The private sector created an eye-popping 297,000 jobs from November to December, according a report from ADP that was the highest number the payroll firm has ever reported.
In its monthly report compiled with Macroeconomic Advisors, ADP said the service sector accounted for the bulk of the creation, with 270,000 jobs while goods producers supplied the remaining 27,000.
The number was far higher than the 100,000 economists expected the ADP report to show and sets the stage for what could be a positive surprise Friday when the government releases its monthly nonfarm jobs report. That report is expected to show 140,000 jobs were created.
The optimistic report came shortly after news that planned layoffs in the US declined in December to the lowest monthly level of 2010, while expected job cuts for the full year came in at the lowest mark since 1997, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas reported Wednesday.
Companies reported 32,004 planned layoffs last month, down 34 percent from November and 29 percent from December 2009.
That was the lowest number of planned cuts since June 2000.
For 2010, companies announced 529,973 job cuts, down 59 percent from announced layoffs in 2009.
?The downsizing phase of the recession really came to an end in 2009," John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a press release. "Job cutting fell dramatically in the second half of that year. The pace of downsizing continued to slow in 2010 to levels we have not seen since before the 2001 recession."
The government and non-profit sector saw the largest cuts, with 142,255 jobs eliminated.
"Unfortunately, the government sector is likely to see heavy job cuts again in 2011 as the budget shortfalls that existed in 2010 continue into the new year," John Challenger said.
"In fact, the sector could see an increase in job cuts in 2011 as state and local agencies, which saw the heaviest downsizing last year, are joined by federal agencies under increasing pressure from a Congress determined to cut spending."
The auto industry saw layoffs decline 91 percent last year, while retailers cut 61 percent fewer jobs than in 2009.
