Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics

Private sector employment increased by 158,000 jobs from September to October, according to the October ADP National Employment Report, which is produced by Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics. The report, which is derived from ADP’s actual payroll data, measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

October 2012 Report Highlights

Total U.S. Nonfarm Private Employment: 158,000

• 1-19 employees 18,000
• 20-49 employees 32,000
• 50-499 employees 27,000
• 500-999 employees 12,000
• 1,000+ employees 69,000

By Sector

• Goods producing 14,000
• Service providing 144,000

Industry Snapshot

• Construction 23,000
• Manufacturing -8,000
• Trade/transportation/utilities 24,000
• Financial services 9,000
• Professional/business services 35,000

Goods-producing employment rose by 14,000 jobs in October after declining in the two prior months. Gains in construction jobs of 23,000 more than offset the 8,000 decline in manufacturing employment.

Service-providing jobs increased by 144,000. Among the service industries reported by the ADP National Employment Report, professional/business services had the largest gain with 35,000 jobs added over the month. Trade/transportation/utilities added 24,000 jobs and financial activities added 9,000 jobs in October.

Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, said, “Businesses are adding consistently to their payrolls. October’s job gains were in line with the average monthly gains of the past two years, with sturdy albeit less than stellar growth across most industries and company sizes. Businesses have turned more cautious in recent months, but that has yet to impact their hiring and firing decisions.”

Changes in Total Nonfarm Private Employment

Businesses with 49 or fewer employees added 50,000 jobs in October. Employment levels among medium-sized companies with 50-499 employees, rose by 27,000, while employment at large companies – those with 500 or more employees – increased by 81,000.

The matched sample used to develop the ADP National Employment Report was derived from ADP payroll data, which, year to date represents 406,000 U.S. clients employing more than 23 million workers in the U.S.