The U.S. economy added 147,000 private, non-farm jobs in September, according to the monthly employment report released Wednesday by payroll-management firm ADP and its partner Moody’s Analytics.
The seasonally adjusted number reflects a 27% drop from September’s upwardly-revised 202,000 jobs, and marks a 21% drop from the 185,000 jobs added a year ago in October 2015. With the presidential election right around the corner, October’s job report reflects cautious uncertainty about the U.S. economy under new leadership.
“Job growth has slowed a bit over the past year… but 150K is still a very good, solid number, well above the rate job growth needed to absorb the growth of working age population.” Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi said in a conference call this morning.
By selected industry, construction lost the most jobs, down 15,000 in October. The slowing in job market could be attributed to slumps in the energy and construction sector in the past a few months, Zandi said. While residential construction remains quite stable, public construction and private, non-residential construction have been on the soft side for months, weighing down the construction job market.
About 22 percent (34,000) of the payroll additions in September occurred at businesses with fewer than 50 employees, a figure significantly lower than in previous months. Within that figure, firms employing fewer than 20 individuals accounted for roughly half (17,000) of those additions.
Manufacturing lost 1,000 positions, after gaining 3,000 in September. Professional and business services sector—which includes architecture and engineering firms—created 69,000 new payroll positions in October.
About 23 percent (34,000) of the payroll additions in October took place at businesses with fewer than 50 employees, a figure significantly lower than in previous months. Within that figure, firms employing fewer than 20 individuals accounted for less than half (14,000) of those additions.
ADP has upgraded their employment model this month, which is intended to further close up the estimate gaps between ADP and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. October is also the first month that the ADP report includes employment information for additional industries, including financial services, education, healthcare, and transportation.
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ADP’s national employment report is often used to gauge the monthly Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report, which will be released this Friday.
