Private Sector Employment Increases in October, Reports ADP

 Private sector employment increased by 230,000 jobs from September to October according to the October ADP National Employment Report. The report, derived from ADP’s payroll data, measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

Payrolls for businesses with 49 or fewer employees increased by 102,000 jobs in October, up from 93,000 in September.  Job growth was up dramatically over the month for medium-sized firms.  Employment among companies with 50-499 employees rose by 122,000, well over twice September’s increase of 47,000.  Employment at large companies, those with 500 or more employees, saw a big drop from 85,000 the previous month to only 5,000 jobs added in October.  Companies with 500-999 employees added 14,000 jobs, up from September’s 8,000.  However, this increase was offset by the loss of 8,000 jobs by companies with over 1,000 employees.

Goods-producing employment rose by 48,000 jobs in October, down slightly from 50,000 jobs gained in September.  The construction industry added 28,000 jobs over the month, above last month’s gain of 13,000.  Meanwhile, manufacturing added 15,000 jobs in October, down by over half from September’s 33,000 which was the highest total in that sector since March 2011.

Service-providing employment rose by 181,000 jobs in October, up from 176,000 in September.  Professional/business services contributed 53,000 jobs in October.  Expansion in trade/transportation/utilities grew by 47,000, up from September’s 37,000.  The 4,000 new jobs added in financial activities was less than half of last month’s number.

“Employment continues to trend upward as we begin the last quarter of 2014, driven mostly by small to mid-sized companies,” said Carlos Rodriguez, president and chief executive officer of ADP.  “October’s job growth is the highest since June and the second highest gain of 2014.”