U.S. Employers Added 125,000 Jobs in October, ADP Report Shows

(Bloomberg) -- Companies added more workers to payrolls than expected in October, underscoring how the labor market continues to grow at a robust, but moderating, pace.

Businesses’ payrolls increased by 125,000 after a downwardly revised 93,000 gain in September, according to data out Wednesday by the ADP Research Institute. That exceeded the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists that had called for a 110,000 gain.

Key Insights

• While the ADP report never directly correlates with the Labor Department’s monthly employment report, the two measures may diverge more than usual this month given differences in accounting for the GM strike. The ADP data do not reflect the 46,000 direct impact of the walkout.
• The government employment report out Friday is forecast to show private payrolls increased by 80,000 in October. The unemployment rate is expected to edge up from a half-century low to 3.6% as wage gains pick up.
• Goods-producing jobs declined by 13,000 as payrolls contracted for mining, construction and manufacturing.
• Service-provider employment grew by 138,000, led by gains in education and health services, and trade and transportation.

Economist’s View

“The job slowdown is most pronounced at manufacturers and small companies. If hiring weakens any further, unemployment will begin to rise,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, said in a statement.

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• Hiring at small businesses increased 17,000 and large businesses added 44,000 to payrolls.
• ADP’s payroll data represent about 411,000 firms employing nearly 24 million workers in the U.S.

To contact the reporter on this story: Reade Pickert in Washington at epickert@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Scott Lanman at slanman@bloomberg.net, Alister Bull

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