US private sector adds more jobs in October

The U.S. private-sector added more jobs than expected in October, hitting the highest level in eight months, a leading industry report revealed Thursday. The U.S. private sector increased by 158,000 jobs in October on a seasonally adjusted basis, up from a revised figure of 114,000 a month earlier, according to the National Employment Report released jointly by Automatic Data Processing (ADP) and Moody's Analytics. This is the first time ADP, a leading human capital management service provider, has collaborated with Moody's Analytics, an independent provider of economic forecasting, on the report, which has an increased sample size of 406,000 companies and an expanded number of industry categories. Large businesses accounted for the majority of the employment gains last month, adding 81,000 jobs, while small and medium businesses added 77,000 jobs in total. By sector, the employment in the service-providing sector rose by 144,000, while jobs in the goods-producing sector increased 14,000 after declining in the two prior months, according to the report. "October's job gains were in line with the average monthly gains of the past two years," said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics. "Businesses have turned more cautious in recent months, but that has yet to impact their hiring and firing decisions." With only days left to the presidential election, the labor market has been a top issue for voters. The ADP survey is based on data from private businesses totaling more than 23 million workers on payrolls and excludes government job growth. The Labor Department will release the October job report Friday and it may depict a more definitive picture of employment.