ADP employment beat estimates on Wednesday, setting the stage for a pivotal October payrolls report later this week.
Private-sector employment increased by 125,000 from September to October, ADP said Wednesday.
That’s better than the 110k consensus was looking for. The range was 40k to 190k from three-dozen economists.
September’s report was revised sharply lower by -42k to 93k.
The goods-producing sector shed 13,000 jobs this month, while service providers added 138,000.
“While job growth continues to soften, there are certain segments of the labor market that remain strong”, Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute said.
Mark Zandi noted the weakness in the goods producing sector (manufacturing shed 4,000 positions) but pointed to healthcare and midsized companies where “solid gains” were seen.
“Job growth has throttled way back over the past year. The job slowdown is most pronounced at manufacturers and small companies”, Zandi added, on the way to warning that “if hiring weakens any further, unemployment will begin to rise”.
The White House has long championed manufacturing and small businesses, which the president claims have benefited “big league” from his economic policies.
Economists expect the headline number for October payrolls to be among the lowest of the Trump presidency when it hits the tape on Friday morning.
