The ADP reports that 227,000 new jobs in the private sector were created in October, much higher than polled expectations. The September total was revised down from 230,000 to 218,000.
Key Takeaways
- Economists polled by Econoday were only expecting 178,000 new jobs to be created
- 102,000 new jobs are attributed to large businesses with over 500 employees
- Mid-sized businesses with 50 - 499 employees created 96,000 positions
- Small employers with 49 or under employees created 29,000 jobs
In the sectors with new jobs, 61,000 were added to businesses dealing in trade, transport or utilities. 40,000 jobs were added to leisure and hospitality businesses.
The data contributes to the perception of what seems to be a strong labor market, particularly when including jobs from both the public and private sector as measured by the Labor Department which is expected to report 202,000 new jobs in October and an unemployment rate of just 3.7% a 49-year low. Payrolls increased by a yearly low of 134,000.
A Reuters poll of economists shows forecasts that non-farming jobs probably rebounded by 190,000 in October after the restaurant and retail industry was negatively impacted by Hurricane Florence in September.
Expert Outlook
"Despite a significant shortage in skilled talent, the labor market continues to grow," said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute."We saw significant gains across all industries with trade and leisure and hospitality leading the way. We continue to see larger employers benefit in this environment as they are more apt to provide the competitive wages and strong benefits employees desire."
Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics, said, "The job market bounced back strongly last month despite being hit by back-to-back hurricanes. Testimonial to the robust employment picture is the broad-based gains in jobs across industries. The only blemish is the struggles small businesses are having filling open job positions."
Market Reaction
US Treasuries rose to record highs as the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +1.05% continued to earn strong gains, now up around 300 points. Meanwhile the price of gold is down 0.52% and trading at $1,216.30/oz with December Comex Futures down 0.69% and not far behind at $1,216.90/oz.
Gold Price Chart
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