- Carlos Rodriguez, president and chief executive officer of ADP
US private sector created 230,000 jobs in October, the most since June, as mid-sized companies added 122,000 jobs in the reported month, the most employees in more than seven years. The gauge, which is seen as a leading indicator of labour market health in the country, has been above the 200,000 threshold for the fifth consecutive month. Private employers have now added jobs for 56 months in a row at an average rate of more than 186,000 per month. The ADP data come ahead of the US Labor Department's nonfarm payrolls on Friday, which includes both private and public sector employment. Economists expect the total US businesses to add 231,000 jobs in October, down from 248,000 a month earlier. Recently released data confirms the upbeat assessment of the US labour market made a few days ago by Fed officials. In the latest central bank's statement policymakers welcomed solid job gains seen in the past few weeks while also noting that "significant underutilization of labor resources" is gradually diminishing, as the unemployment rate fell to 5.9% in September, its lowest level since 2008. In the meantime, business activity in the US non-manufacturing sector slowed in October for a second consecutive month, according to the Institute for Supply Management. ISM non-manufacturing PMI fell to 57.1 down from 58.6 in the preceding month and below analysts' expectations of a 58.0 reading.
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