NEW YORK — A surprising jump in hiring sent bond prices lower and lifted the dollar Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average edged higher for the third straight day of the new year.
A survey from payroll processor ADP found that private companies added 297,000 jobs last month, nearly triple the number that economists were expecting.
The report is the first chance for investors to see how strong the job market was in December.
The next look comes Friday morning, when the Labor Department releases its monthly report on total U.S. payrolls and the unemployment rate. Economists expect the rate will dip to 9.7 percent from 9.8 percent.
The unexpectedly high jobs survey from ADP suggests that the Labor Department report will also be strong. But economists cautioned against reading too much into the ADP figures, which also take into account weekly figures on claims for unemployment insurance, said Thomas Simons, market economist at Jefferies & Co.
“When the ADP number comes in strong, it doesn’t mean all the other labor reports will come in strong,” Simons said. “But it does show that the labor market is improving. You have to take all these numbers together and come up with a mosaic view.”
Signs that the economy is improving weakened demand for low-risk investments.
Higher rates in the Treasury market helped push the dollar up against other currencies. The dollar rose 1 percent against an index of six other currencies.
The Dow gained 31.71 points, or 0.3 percent, to 11,722.89. It closed at its highest level since Aug. 11, 2008.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 6.36, or 0.5 percent, to 1,276.56. The Nasdaq rose 20.95, or 0.8 percent, to 2,702.20.
Oil was up 92 cents, at $90.30 a barrel, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Rising prices over the past month continue to boost gasoline-pump prices.
