WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. private payrolls increased far less than expected in October, but that likely understates the health of the labor market, which remains tight.
Private payrolls rose by 113,000 jobs last month, the ADP National Employment Report showed on Wednesday. Data for September was unrevised to show 89,000 jobs added as previously. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast private payrolls rising 150,000.
The ADP report, jointly developed with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, was published ahead of the release on Friday of the Labor Department’s more comprehensive and closely watched employment report for October.
The ADP report has not been a reliable gauge in trying to predict the private payrolls count in the employment report.
The labor market remains strong despite 525 basis points worth of interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve since March 2022. A survey from the Conference Board on Tuesday showed consumers’ views of the labor market upbeat in October.
According to a Reuters survey of economists, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to report that private payrolls increased by 158,000 jobs in October after rising by 263,000 in September. Some of the anticipated slowdown will likely reflect strikes by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union against Detroit’s Big Three car makers, which is expected to undercut manufacturing payrolls.
The government reported last week that there were at least 30,000 UAW members on strike during the period it surveyed business establishments for October’s employment report.
The Reuters poll estimated that nonfarm payrolls increased by 180,000 jobs October, slowing down from September’s robust 336,000 count.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
