- Gennadiy Goldberg, an economist at TD Securities
Even though the private sector hiring rose at a slower pace, the US private companies continued to add a robust number of jobs to the economy in January. Employers created 205,000 jobs last month compared with 267,000 in December, according to ADP Research Institute. Economists, however, had predicted a 195,000 advance. The data came ahead of the government's more comprehensive report on Friday. Economists predict that the report will show employers added 200,000 jobs and the jobless rate remained at 5.0%. Robust hiring numbers contrast with weak data on the overall economy, which grew at just a 0.7% annual rate in the final quarter of last year. Economists foresee growth figures will improve in the current quarter. The world's number one economy has been hit hard by a strong US Dollar, weakening global demand and an inventory de-stoking, which have pressured manufacturing and export industries.
A separate report showed business activity in the dominant services sector slowed to the lowest level in almost two years in January, suggesting the economic growth faltered at the start of the first quarter. According to the Institute of Supply Management, the index of non-manufacturing activity dropped to 53.5 last month, the lowest level since February 2014, down from 55.8 in December.
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