Private payrolls show better-than-expected growth of 143,000 in September, says ADP

Private sector hiring rebounded in September, indicating the labor market remains firm despite some signs of weakness, payroll processing firm ADP reported Wednesday.

Companies added 143,000 jobs during the month, an acceleration from the upwardly revised 103,000 in August and better than the consensus forecast of 128,000 from economists surveyed by Dow Jones.

While hiring increased, the rate of wage growth fell another step. The 12-month increase for those who stayed in their jobs fell to 4.7%, while it fell to 6.6% for those who changed jobs, down 0.7 percentage points from August.

Job gains were fairly widespread, with leisure and hospitality leading the way with 34,000, followed by construction (26,000), education and health services (24,000), professional and business services (20,000), and other services (17,000). .

Information services was the only category to record losses, down 10,000.

Service providers accounted for 101,000 of the total, and goods producers accounted for the rest.

From a size standpoint, all the growth came from companies with more than 50 employees. Small businesses suffered losses: those employing fewer than 20 workers decreased by 13,000.

The ADP count comes two days before the Labor Department’s nonfarm payrolls report, which is expected to show growth of 150,000, following August’s disappointing result of 142,000, of which 118,000 came from private sector hiring. .

While the ADP report serves as a precursor to the official count, the two can differ, sometimes by wide margins.

Federal Reserve officials are watching employment numbers closely as they contemplate the next step for monetary policy and interest rates. In a speech Monday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell characterized the labor market as “solid,” though he noted that it has “clearly cooled” over the past year.

The Fed is expected to continue its half-percentage point rate cut in September with further reductions in November and December. The main question is whether the central bank will move forward with the same large increase or return to a more conventional quarter-point move.

Futures market prices are currently pointing to a quarter-point cut in November and then a half-point move in December. Powell indicated that back-to-back quarter-point moves are the most likely scenario now, although policymakers continue to monitor the data and will adjust accordingly.