Private-sector employers added 147,000 jobs in October

U.S. businesses added 147,000 jobs in October, which is the slowest pace since May but still strong enough to lower the jobless rate.

Manufacturing, construction and education companies cut jobs last month as jobs growth eased up from the 202,000 in September, payroll provider ADP said on Wednesday in the final report before Tuesday’s elections.

{mosads}“Job growth remains strong although the pace of growth appears to be slowing,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, which oversees the data.

“It is still a very good, solid number,” Zandi said. “The labor market continues to close in on full employment,” he said. 

Jobs growth has braked in the past year from a rate of about 200,000 jobs a month as employers face more difficulty filling open positions, the energy sector tries to regain its footing amid low oil prices and public construction declines. 

Construction companies shed 15,000 jobs last month, while manufacturers cut 1,000 jobs. Education lost 12,000 positions, and the energy sector, specifically mining, cut 2,000 jobs last month.

Zandi said the pace of hiring remains well above the rate of jobs growth needed to absorb the growth of the working-age population.

As the economy moves toward full employment, the nation’s largest businesses are doing the bulk of the hiring, adding 64,000 jobs compared with the 34,000 hired by smaller firms.

“Job growth appears to be shifting from small to large companies due to the lessening impact the global economic environment had on large companies earlier in the year,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and head of the ADP Research Institute.

“This is also true because large companies often have the resources to attract workers with better pay and benefit packages,” Yildirmaz said.

The government is set to release its jobs report on Friday, with the forecast ranging between 185,000 and 200,000, a number that could provide Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton with a late boost to her candidacy for the White House.

The economy grew at a 2.9 percent rate in the July-September quarter, a source of political friction in the presidential campaign, up from 1.4 percent in the previous quarter. 

The October report is the first installment that includes more details on 10 sectors to bring the private report more closely in line with the monthly Bureau of Labor Statistics figures, Zandi said.