November job numbers make a strong showing

CLARKONOMICS: Hiring in the private sector made a stronger showing in November than expected.

New numbers from ADP, a major payroll processing company, show that employment in the private sector keeps picking up. In fact, the number of new positions created was the largest in a year. That’s really positive news.

Where are the jobs coming from? Overwhelmingly, they’re coming from smaller employers. Companies with less than 50 employees accounted for more than half of all hiring. By contrast, big companies hired virtually no one in the last month.

So often when people look for work, they target the largest employers they can think of, the ones that have instantly recognizable names. But the “dinosaur rule” dictates the bigger a company becomes, the less efficient it becomes.

In reality, it is the lean, hungry small businesses that create growth and excitement in capitalism. The response you want when you get a job and somebody asks you who you work for is, “What’s that? Who are they? And what do they do?”

Here’s a timely tip for job hunters: Right now is the best time to look for work. Most unemployed people stop looking for work between Thanksgiving and the new year. They just assume no one is hiring. But the advantage to looking right now is that there are fewer competitors doing the same thing. So get out there and be active with your job search!