Private survey showed that U.S. businesses have added a solid 235,000 jobs in October. The survey is partly reflecting a rebound from the previous month when hiring was held back by several hurricanes, the Associated Press reports.
According to payroll processor ADP, last month’s gain was the largest in seven months. In September the hiring fell to 110,000. That was the smallest number in nearly a year. Construction companies are responsible for the rebound. They reported a huge gain of 62,000 jobs. That is the biggest number in the past eleven years and a sign that rebuilding efforts after Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria are under way.
Manufacturers added 22,000 jobs, professional and technical services added 68,000, while a category that includes hotel and restaurant workers added 45,000. Damage from the hurricanes caused a loss of 33,000 jobs in September, government’s jobs report showed. The ADP report doesn’t include government payrolls and often diverges from the official figures. Economists expect that the Labor Department’s report for October, will show a much bigger gain of 308,000 jobs.
The gap between the ADP and government figures is because of the different way the numbers are calculated, Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, which compiles the ADP report, explains. For example, if a business was closed during the hurricanes and employees weren’t paid, in the government data that would be a job loss. But they would be counted as employed by the ADP if they remain on the company’s payroll and return to work after the hurricanes. In that way, Zandi explains, the ADP data is less affected by the hurricanes. The economist expects that the government report, that is supposed to be released on Friday, will show a gain of about 300,000 jobs.
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