The data published by Automatic Data Processing (ADP) showed on Thursday that private sector employment in the US rose by 235,000 in December. This reading came in much higher than the market expectation of 150,000.

Commenting on the data, "the labor market is strong but fragmented, with hiring varying sharply by industry and establishment size,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP. “Business segments that hired aggressively in the first half of 2022 have slowed hiring and in some cases cut jobs in the last month of the year."

Further detail of the publication revealed that annual pay was up 7.3% on a yearly basis in December. 

Market reaction

US Dollar gathered strength against its rivals with the initial reaction. As of writing, the US Dollar Index was up 0.35% on the day at 104.62.