According to a report issued by a research arm of the largest payroll service in the country, the private sector has increased hiring, an indication that the economy may be growing. During these trouble times, many look to the government to offer solace and good news concerning the economy. However, on Wednesday, ADP Research Institute released a report which claims that companies in the private sector in the United States added over 280,000 employees to their payrolls in the month of June, much higher than the projected number of 200,000. The report indicated that the number of new employees is the most in a month since November 2012, a sign of a possible strengthening of the job market.
ADP Research Institute is an arm of ADP, a payroll service which has access to the payrolls of companies of over 24 million workers in the United States. This increase exceeded all estimates by analysts, and comes after the smaller increase of 179,000 workers in May. This indicates the hiring of more workers, combined with fewer firings during the last month. Economists have argued that after a slower than expected first few months of the calendar, the economy would stabilize and grow for the remainder of the year. These numbers would support their claims. A report is expected by the United States Labor Department on Thursday which may show private sector jobs rising by over 210,000, which is still a welcome sign. It is predicted that the Labor Department will indicate the unemployment rate is holding at 6.3%, which is almost a new six year low.
The job market may finally be seeing a rise in demand for workers, and companies are acknowledging the demand by increasing hiring, and reducing firing. The report issued indicates that the hiring is not limited to one particular area of the job market. There are indications of job growth in manufacturing, construction, factories and other production industries. There is a strong indication of the auto industry adding jobs, along with oil and gas companies. In addition, the hiring occurred at a number of companies, big and small. It did not matter whether you employed less than 50 workers or more than 500 workers; there were significant hidings across the board.
During the slower than expected first quarter, the economy actually took a step back, with decreased housing sales, lower numbers of workers hired, and slower pace of consumer spending, the weakest in almost five years, according to the United States Commerce Department. A good indication that consumers have more money to spend, resulting from more workers obtaining gainful employment, is the increase in sales of new and used vehicles during the last month. According to various reports, cars and light trucks sold at a rate higher than any month since June 2006. Some data indicates that new deliveries at large auto makers plants in the United States have exceeded all estimates in the industry. Analysts are now predicting the gross domestic product will bounce back and expand, and that household spending will be on the increase for the foreseeable future.
In the past, ADP’s reports have been met with skepticism and doubt. However, there are a number of analysts issuing supporting conclusions and data, including the United States Government. Even if ADP has inflated the numbers, the actual rise in hiring will be fairly close to their numbers, and at the very least will exceed all expectations. This is a good sign for a job market and economy that only a few months ago was possibly on the brink of sliding backwards, instead of thrusting forward.
