9:59am | Private employers added more jobs than expected in January, according to a report issued by ADP Employer Services on Wednesday.
It was the 12th straight month that companies took on staff, adding to hopes that the weak American labor market is slowly improving, good news for communities like Long Beach.
Unemployment in Long Beach has shrunk gradually over the last few months—very gradually. Unemployment in Long Beach fell slightly to 13.9% in December from 14.3% in November, according to a report released by the Employment Development Department recently. Despite the drop, Long Beach still has a reported 33,100 unemployed.
The private sector added 187,000 jobs in January, compared with 247,000 jobs in December. ADP figures for December turned out to be much stronger than the government report showed, according to a Reuters story.
The Reuters story states that investors could be wary of ADP after December’s numbers because they don’t jibe with government estimates.
“According to this measure, employment is accelerating, and while January’s addition is less than December’s, we remain of the belief that employment gains will continue over the course of the year,” Dan Greenhaus, chief economic strategist with Miller Tabak & Co., told the Los Angeles Times in a story on Wednesday.
On Friday, the government will report on January’s nonfarm payrolls.