Did someone forget to tell American businesses that the government shutdown was supposed to depress hiring?
Private payrolls grew by 213,000 in January, according to ADP and Moody’s Analytics.
Economists polled by Bloomberg expected payrolls to grow by 174,000.
“The job market weathered the government shutdown well. Despite the severe disruptions, businesses continued to add aggressively to their payrolls,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, in a statement. “As long as businesses hire strongly the economic expansion will continue on.”