U.S. Private Payrolls Growth in January

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. private payrolls growth picked up in January, as indicated by the ADP National Employment Report released on Wednesday.

Private payrolls increased by 183,000 jobs last month, following an upwardly revised rise of 176,000 in December. Economists surveyed by Reuters had anticipated an increase of 150,000 in private employment, after initially reporting a 122,000 gain for December.

The ADP report, created in partnership with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, was issued before the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics will publish its more comprehensive employment report for January this Friday.

It’s important to note that there is no established correlation between the ADP and BLS employment reports. According to a Reuters survey, private payrolls likely grew by 141,000 jobs in January, compared to a significant rise of 223,000 in December. Overall, nonfarm payrolls are estimated to have increased by 170,000 jobs, after a substantial surge of 256,000 in December. The unemployment rate is expected to remain constant at 4.1%.