- Sal Guatieri, a senior economist in Toronto at BMO Capital Markets
US private employers created more jobs than expected in October, suggesting steady improvement in the US labour market. Companies added 182,000 workers in the reported month, following a revised 190,000 increase in the preceding month, according to the ADP Research Institute. The median projections of economists called for a rise of 180,000. The ADP data comes ahead of the US Labor Department's more comprehensive non-farm payrolls report on Friday, which includes both public and private-sector employment. Economists predict total US employment to have increased by 180,000 jobs in October, compared to the 142,000 created in September. The unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 5.1%.
A separate report showed the US trade shortfall narrowed sharply in September due to a recovery in demand for American goods from overseas. Nevertheless, the outlook for factories remains cloudy. The trade deficit contracted 15% to $40.81 billion, the smallest trade gap since February, according to the Commerce Department. Exports rose 1.6%, the biggest advance since early 2014. At the same time, imports dropped 1.8%, as Americans bought less of foreign items from cellphones to cars.
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