US ADP report showed private sector employment grew 125k in October, slightly below expectation of 132k. Prior month’s figure was revised sharply down from 135k to 93k. Looking at the details, small business jobs added 17k, medium business 64k, large business 44k. By sector, goods-producing jobs dropped -13k while service-providing jobs rose 138k.
“While job growth continues to soften, there are certain segments of the labor market that remain strong,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute. “The goods producing sector showed weakness; however, the healthcare industry and midsized companies had solid gains.”
Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, said, “Job growth has throttled way back over the past year. The job slowdown is most pronounced at manufacturers and small companies. If hiring weakens any further, unemployment will begin to rise.”
