U.S. Hiring Picked Up Pace in October But Salaries Lose Steam

By Joshua Kirby

Hiring among U.S. private-sector employees ticked up a little in October, though not as much as expected, as the labor market tightened again, though wage growth softened slightly.

Employment in the nonfarm private sector increased by 113,000 jobs, compared with 89,000 in September, according to data from the ADP National Employment Report released Wednesday. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected an increase of 130,000 jobs.

The previous month, hiring had cooled much more than expected, with jobs lost notably in the manufacturing and trade sectors.

"While the labor market has slowed, it's still enough to support strong consumer spending," said Nela Richardson, chief economist at the ADP.

Annual wage growth meanwhile stood at 5.7% in October, compared with 5.9% in September. Pay data is based on the salaries of almost 10 million individual employees over a 12-month period.

"Big post-pandemic pay increases seem to be behind us," Richardson said.

Large employers added some 18,000 jobs in October, reversing the previous month's losses, while small and mid-sized firms also employed more workers. Education & health services led job creation with 45,000 new posts, taking the title from leisure & hospitality, the latter sector having led a post-pandemic jobs boom, the ADP said.

Most other services and goods-producing sectors also added jobs, though professional services and mining both bucked the trend.

By region, the southern U.S. added most jobs in October, at 64,000, while the Midwest shed posts.

The ADP estimate is based on aggregated payroll data of more than 25 million U.S. workers and is independent from U.S. Labor Department official data, which is set to publish figures for October on Friday. The ADP series can diverge considerably from the Labor Department's data, as was the case in September.

Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 01, 2023 08:53 ET (12:53 GMT)

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