Private businesses in the US created 250,000 in December, according to the ADP Research Institute report. The highest in nine months and beat the 190,000 estimated by economists.

“The job market ended the year strongly,” Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Pennsylvania, said in the statement. Moody’s produces the figures with ADP. “Robust Christmas sales prompted retailers and delivery services to add to their payrolls. The tight labor market will get even tighter, raising the specter that it will overheat.”

Increase in job creation remains consistent with the tight labor market that is preventing businesses from attracting skilled workers and projected by experts to eventually lead to a wage increase and surge in consumer prices in 2018.

Again, the steady employment growth reflects an increase in business confidence among businesses and growing demands that are likely to fuel capital investment and further improve economic outlook in the New Year.

In a separate report, the unemployment claims surprisingly climbed to 250,000 in the week ending December 30. The figure tends to be volatile around holidays and possibly a temporary upsurge.

The U.S. dollar remained weak against G10 currencies following rising uncertainties surrounding economic policy and geopolitical tension. The greenback declined slightly against the Pound Sterling on Thursday to trade at $1.3549 ahead of Friday’s Non-Farm Payroll.