- Private payrolls report shows more robust jobs growth in October, with 571,000 new positions added
- ADP report comes out in advance of the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report, which will be released Friday
- Large businesses accounted for the bulk of jobs gains, but small employers added 115,000 positions
Summary by Dirk Langeveld
A report from the payroll services provider ADP indicates a broad expansion of private nonfarm jobs in October, with 571,000 new positions added during the month.
The data, published by the ADP Research Institute in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics, shows a gain from a downwardly revised figure of 523,000 in September. October’s gains beat estimates by Dow Jones economists that the report would show 395,000 new jobs, and were the strongest boost in new job creation since June.
The report potentially reflects a revival in economic growth, which stalled in recent months as businesses grappled with supply chain bottlenecks and the Delta variant led a new surge in COVID-19 cases.
- 342,000 jobs were added at large employers with 500 or more employers, while midsize employers (50 to 499 employees) added 114,000 positions and small businesses (fewer than 50 employees) added 115,000
- Among small businesses, 60,000 jobs were added at companies with 20 to 49 employees and 56,000 at companies with fewer than 20 employees
- 458,000 jobs were in the service producing sector, while 113,000 were in the goods producing sector
- Leisure and hospitality continued to be a jobs leader, adding 185,000 positions in October; this was followed by 88,000 jobs in professional and business services and 78,000 in trade, transportation, and utilities
- The ADP report is widely seen as a preview of the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report, which will be released on Friday; Dow Jones economists anticipate this report to show 450,000 new jobs in October
- However, the ADP and Labor Department reports are often significantly misaligned; while the former initially showed 568,000 jobs were added in September, the latter put the gain at just 194,000 due to a significant loss of government jobs
