Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. US Employers Adding Jobs at Fast Pace by VOA News A new report says the U.S. labor market is adding jobs at a fast pace. The ADP payroll processing company says American companies added 238,000 jobs in December, the most in any month last year, and a further sign that the U.S. economy picked up momentum in the last months of 2013. Company president Carlos Rodriguez said Wednesday the job growth topped November's gain of 229,000 jobs, and called it "encouraging news that hopefully bodes well for 2014." The report comes two days before the U.S. government releases its official employment figures for last month that includes both private and government jobs and the jobless rate. The American economy, the world's largest, has been adding about 200,000 jobs a month and economists are predicting a similar total for last month. Even with the job growth, the country's unemployment rate is at seven percent, a five-year low, but more than a percentage point above the country's long-term jobless level. The chief economist for the country's biggest bank, James Glassman of JPMorgan Chase, tells VOA the jobless rate may not fall much in 2014, even as the economy advances and companies add to their payrolls. Laid-off workers who have stopped looking for employment are not counted among the jobless in the United States, but would be again if they renew their job search in an improving economy. "We would view that as a favorable development if what is happening is more people are piling back into the job market and that is what is preventing the unemployment rate from coming down. So I expect that we are not going to see as much improvement in the unemployment rate as we have been," said Glassman. While recent job growth has been impressive, President Barack Obama and Republican lawmakers are locked in a dispute over whether the national government should extend unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless that expired late last year. __________________________________________________________________ [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/us-employers-adding-jobs-at-fast-pace /1825776.html References 1. http://www.voanews.com/content/us-employers-adding-jobs-at-fast-pace/1825776.html