US private sector employers boosted hiring and pulled back on job cuts in December, suggesting there has been some momentum in the US labour market in the final months of 2012, even as a budget deadlock loomed.

ADP, the payroll processor, said yesterday that businesses added 215,000 new jobs last month. Job creation in the private sector, which rose to a 10- month high last month, bounced mainly because of the reconstruction after superstorm Sandy.

Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, a subsidiary of the rating agency, said: “There was a bounce back in December due to Sandy rebuilding. This was a very good report that shows resilience in the economy, but we are not off and running yet.”

The report contained a large upward revision to November’s numbers which came in at 148,000, from the 118,000 initially reported. Economists had expected a December level of 150,000.

The ADP report is constructed primarily from businesses’ electronic payroll records, representing approximately 406,000 US corporate clients and 23 million employees – more than 20 per cent of all private sector workers.

– Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2013