Economy

US private sector created 216,000 jobs in Nov, vs 165,000 jobs expected

Trump is inheriting a strong economy: Zandi
VIDEO2:5102:51
Trump is inheriting a strong economy: Zandi

November saw a big surprise in politics and a major jump in job creation, according to a report Wednesday from ADP and Moody's Analytics.

Private companies added a net 216,000 positions during the month, smashing the 165,000 estimate from economists surveyed by Reuters and marking the best month since June. The number was nearly double the 119,000 in October, which was revised lower from the originally reported 147,000.

The spike in hiring came amid Donald's Trump's shocking upset in the presidential race and against expectations that the U.S. job market was reaching a full employment condition that would cause payroll growth to slow.

Get the market reaction here.

"The labor market feels very good," Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, told CNBC. "Mr. Trump is inheriting a very strong economy."

During the campaign, Zandi released an analysis that concluded Trump's policies would cause a "lengthy recession."

Services dominated the month, with the sector adding 228,000 positions, while goods-producing industries lost 11,000 jobs. [The numbers are rounded, so the total does not come to 216,000.]

Within the broad services sector, trade, transportation and utilities created 69,000 jobs while professional and business services contributed 68,000, led by 47,000 in administrative and support services.

Education and health services contributed 43,000 to the total, while the burgeoning leisure and hospitality industry saw payroll growth of 38,000. Wall Street positions continued to increase as well, with a net 12,000 new hires in the financial services industry.

On the downside, manufacturing jobs continued to decline, losing 10,000, while mining declined 4,000. Construction added 2,000.

Small business has led the jobs recovery, but that wasn't the case in November. Firms with 500 or more employees grew by 90,000, while businesses with 50 to 499 employees added 89,000. Small business contributed just 37,000 to the total.

Job creation, specifically in manufacturing and energy, was a centerpiece of Trump's campaign platform. He vowed to curtail outsourcing and threatened to slap tariffs on countries that are engaged in unfair trade policies that hurt U.S. workers.

The ADP/Moody's release comes two days before the government's closely watched nonfarm payrolls report. Economists are expecting 173,000 total growth and 165,000 for private payrolls, according to FactSet. The unemployment rate is expected to stay unchanged at 4.9 percent.