U.S. companies added 153,000 jobs in December, fewer than in the previous month, but the labor market remained solid, a report by a payrolls processor showed Thursday. ADP said private-sector payroll gains in November were revised lower to 215,000 from an originally reported 216,000 increase. "Job growth remains strong but is slowing," said Mark Zandi, the chief economist of Moody's Analytics, which jointly develops the ADP report. Private industries produced a monthly average of 174,000 jobs in 2016, slower than the 209,000 monthly pace in 2015, ADP said. "The gap between employment growth in the service economy and losses on the goods side persists. Smaller companies are struggling to maintain payrolls, while large companies are expanding at a healthy pace," Zandi said. The ADP figures come ahead of the U.S. government's more comprehensive December job-creation report to be released Friday. Economists expect the U.S. economy added 170,000 jobs last month, up from 156,000 in November. The unemployment rate is expected to rise to 4.7 percent from 4.6 percent, a nine-year low. The economy, which is close to full employment, is on track to produce about 1.25 million jobs per year over the next four or five years, Zandi told reporters. He said changes in government policies that encourage more immigration, productivity, and investments could increase the jobs number.
