Jobs growth boost for US

US private employers hired staff at the fastest pace in 13 months in December, raising expectations that similar figures from the government will confirm the US economy was gathering steam at the end of last year.

Firms added 238,000 jobs last month after an upwardly revised 229,000 in November, the ADP National Employment Report showed yesterday.

It was the largest monthly gain since Nov 2012 and brought a three-month average of corporate hiring to nearly 225,000 a month, the fastest such pace in 21 months.