The number of nonfarm, private-sector jobs in the U.S. rose by 215,000 in December from the previous month, according to the national employment report released today by Automatic Data Processing Inc. (NASD: ADP). And the number of new jobs added in November was revised upward by 30,000 jobs to 148,000.

Service-providing jobs rose by 187,000 in December. The goods-producing sector added 28,000 jobs.

“The job market held firm in December despite the intensifying fiscal cliff negotiations in Washington,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, which produces the report for ADP. “Businesses even became somewhat more aggressive in their hiring at year end. Most encouraging is the revival in construction jobs [up by 39,000], although the December gain was likely lifted by rebuilding after Superstorm Sandy. The job market ended 2012 on a more solid footing.” 

The report is based on an anonymous subset of 406,000 ADP clients in the U.S. which employ more than 23 million U.S. workers.