Private Payrolls Jump by 571,000 as Large Businesses Add Workers and Leisure Reopening Accelerates

Big businesses hired aggressively in October, pumping up private payrolls by more than expected, data showed Wednesday morning.

Companies added 571,000 for the month, according to payroll processor ADP.

Economists had forecast 400,000 jobs. August’s estimate was revised down from 468,000 to 423,000.

Businesses with 500 or more employees added 342,000 workers in the month. Those with fifty through 499 workers added 114,000. Smaller companies added 115,000.

The ADP jobs estimates have been out of sync with the official government estimates of jobs growth throughout the pandemic, off by hundreds of thousands on average. Some economists think ADP’s readings will become more accurate as the economy normalizes.

Leisure and hospitality businesses added 185,000.  There are signs that people are making leisure travel plans again and spending is up in areas such as Florida where the virus surged early and declined earlier. The seven-day average of new cases in Florida has fallen from around 22,000 in August to around 1,600 in early November. In September, Florida added 1.1 million leisure and hospitality jobs.

Construction added 54,000, a strong result for the sector. Manufacturing also grew quickly, adding 53,000.

If confirmed by Friday’s nonfarm payroll data from the Labor Department, the results will likely be read as a sign that the economy is accelerating after a Delta variant and inflation-driven slump in the third quarter of 2021.

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