U.S. business hiring surged in June, signaling stronger economic growth, a payrolls processor reported Wednesday. Companies hired 281,000 workers last month, up from 179,000 in May, marking the biggest monthly increase since late 2012 and well above market expectations, ADP said. Economists expected the ADP national employment report would show a June gain of 200,000 jobs. The improvement in June hiring mostly occurred in professional and business services, a category that includes many higher paying jobs such as accountants and engineers, but also lower-paid temporary workers. The category gained 77,000 jobs. Goods producers hired 51,000 workers last month, up from 31,000 in May. The ADP figures suggest the government's job creation report, to be released Thursday, also could show a significant gain from May's total of 217,000 jobs. But the ADP numbers cover only private businesses and sometimes diverge from the Labor Department's more comprehensive report.
