Private payrolls show modest rebound in October
The country’s private employers added 42,000 jobs in October in the first monthly gain since July, though growth was nonetheless muted compared to earlier this year, according to the payroll processor ADP.
October’s hiring gains were mixed, with the professional business services sector losing 15,000 positions and the information sector dropping 17,000 roles as trade, transportation, and utilities added 47,000 roles. Education and health services also gained 26,000 jobs. Small- and medium-size businesses broadly lost roles while large employers were hiring more.
“Meanwhile, pay growth has been largely flat for more than a year, indicating that shifts in supply and demand are balanced,” ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said in a statement following the data release on Wednesday.
Read more: How jobs, inflation, and the Fed are all related
ADP’s jobs data for the entire month of September had previously shown that employers had shed 32,000 jobs. That number was revised to a loss of 29,000 jobs in Wednesday’s report. August similarly showed a loss, albeit on a smaller scale.
The ADP report comes amid a virtual blackout of official employment statistics due to the ongoing government shutdown, leaving economists and analysts to examine whatever alternative numbers they can get their hands on. September’s jobs report is now more than a month late, while October’s jobs report — normally scheduled for release this Friday — will almost certainly be pushed back.
Last week, the payroll processor also said it would release estimates of weekly job gains. Its first release of that data had also suggested a “tepid recovery” for October.
Emma Ockerman is a reporter covering the economy and labor for Yahoo Finance. You can reach her at emma.ockerman@yahooinc.com.
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