ADP: Firms added 213,000 jobs in September

Paul Davidson, USA TODAY
25 minutes ago

Justin Sullivan, Getty Images
Private employers added 213,000 jobs in
September, according to ADP.
Private employers added 213,000 jobs in
September, payroll processor ADP said Wednesday,
possibly signaling that the government's closely
watched report this Friday will show a rebound in
employment growth.
Economists had estimated that ADP would report
207,000 private-sector job additions.They predict
the Labor Department's report Friday will show
215,000 payroll gains by businesses and
governments, according to the Action Economics
survey's median forecast.
ADP said small businesses added 88,000 jobs; mid-
size ones, 48,000 and large companies, 77,000.
Trade, transportation and utilities led the job gains,
with 38,000. Manufacturers added 35,000, and
professional and business services, 29,000.
"Especially encouraging most recently is the
increasingly broad base nature of those gains," said
Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics,
which helps ADP compile the report. "Nearly all
industries and companies of all sizes are adding
consistently to payrolls."
ADP and Labor track similar trends, but ADP's
count has differed from Labor's private-sector job
tally by an average 34,000 since Moody's Analytics
began helping ADP compile the data nearly two
years ago, according to High Frequency Economics.
Last month, ADP reported that businesses added
202,000 jobs in August, while Labor's estimate was
134,000. Overall payroll growth slowed to 142,000
after six straight months of 200,000-plus gains,
Labor said.
Many economists note that other labor market
indicators have been positive recently, including
initial jobless claims that have fallen to pre-
recession levels. They expect the government to
revise up the August figure.
The ADP total for September "supports our view
that the disappointing 142,000 gain in official
payrolls last month was just a blip," Paul Dales,
senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics, said in
a research note.
Labor's report on September job gains should be
bolstered by the return of 17,000 striking workers,
says Jim O'Sullivan, chief US economist at High
Frequency Economics.