U.S. Private Sector Added 125,000 Jobs in October

By Patrick Thomas

The nonfarm private sector in the U.S. added 125,000 jobs in October, according to the ADP National Employment Report.

Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal were expecting 100,000 new jobs.

The service-producing sector drove the increase, accounting for 138,000 new jobs, while the good-producing sector lost 13,000 jobs.

"While job growth continues to soften, there are certain segments of the labor market that remain strong," Ahu Yildirmaz, co-head of the ADP Research Institute, said in prepared remarks. "The goods producing sector showed weakness; however, the healthcare industry and midsized companies had solid gains."

Large businesses, or those that have at least 500 employees, added 44,000 jobs. Midsize businesses added 64,000 jobs and small businesses, or those with 49 employees or fewer, added 17,000 jobs.

Of the 138,000 jobs the service-producing sector added, the growth was across all industries. The trade, transportation and utilities and education and health sectors both brought in the most new jobs, and added 32,000 and 41,000, respectively.

Within the goods-producing sector, the construction industry lost 4,000 jobs and the natural resources and mining jobs also fell by 4,000. Manufacturing lost 4,000 additional jobs.

The ADP Research Institute puts out the monthly report with Moody's Analytics.

Write to Patrick Thomas at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 30, 2019 08:45 ET (12:45 GMT)

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