US private-sector hiring surges

U.S. private-sector employers added the most jobs in more than a year in December, led by a big gain in construction hiring, a report by a payrolls processor showed Wednesday, providing further evidence the U.S. economy gained momentum at the end of 2013.ADP said companies added 238,000 jobs last month, up slightly from 229,000 in November. It was the best performance in 13 months. Construction companies added 48,000 jobs in December, the most since 2006.The ADP report comes two days ahead of the government’s December payrolls report, a measure of the labor market that is more comprehensive because it includes both private- and public-sector employment. Analysts expect 196,000 jobs were added last month, a slight decline from November.