NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Private sector payrolls soared 297,000 in December, payroll processor ADP announced Wednesday. The gain marks the 11th consecutive month of increases, and was much larger than economists had expected. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com were forecasting an increase of 100,000 jobs.
The increase in hiring was led by the services sector, with employers adding 270,000 jobs in December. That's the highest jump on record, ADP said.
That's a positive sign for the economy, with the government's highly-anticipated monthly unemployment report due Friday.
Job cuts on the decline: In another sign that the weak job market might have bottomed out, 2010 was the lowest year for job cuts in 13 years, according to a separate report issued Wednesday.
Employers announced plans to cut nearly 530,000 jobs in 2010, a 59% plunge from 2009, when job cuts reached a seven-year high, said Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an outplacement consulting firm.
It was the lowest number of announced cuts since 1997, when 434,000 job cuts were announced. Challenger also reported that job cuts plunged 34% in December to 32,000 from nearly 49,000 the month before.
That was the lowest monthly job cut total since 2000. Last year's holiday-season job cuts were less severe that the year before.
Job cuts in December 2010 were 29% lower than the year-earlier level of about 45,000, according to the report.
