U.S. Adds 205,000 Jobs In January, Small And Large Businesses Miss Expectations

The U.S. economy saw a decline in the number of jobs added for January, but still saw one of the best months for employment in the previous year.

The U.S. economy added 205,000 jobs in January, according to data by ADP Research Institute released Wednesday morning.

Small businesses were expected to add 101,000 jobs, but only added 79,000 to their payrolls, while large businesses were 44,000 jobs short of their 88,000 target. Medium-sized businesses with between 50-499 employees slightly beat expectations (77,000) with 82,000 jobs.

The gain was the fourth-largest increase in employment in the past 12 months. Ninety-four percent of the new jobs were service-providing as opposed to goods-producing.

ADP's jobs figures are released ahead of Friday's Department of Labor employment report. Forecasts expect no change in the overall unemployment rate for January.

Economists see the U.S. adding 183,000 private sector jobs last month, down from a December estimate of 275,000 jobs.

The U.S. Dollar Index was trading down with the ADP news early Wednesday morning.

Posted In: NewsEcon #s
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