U.S. Private Sector Adds More Jobs Than Expected in October

Companies added 158,000 jobs in October, data from a payrolls processor showed on Thursday in a revamped report on the private sector labor market.

The historical data for the ADP National Employment Report was revised as part of the new methodology, which was used for the first time in the October report. September's increase has halved to 88,200 new jobs from an initially reported 162,000.

Economists had forecast October's report would show a gain of 135,000 jobs, according to a Reuters poll.

Economists often refer to the ADP report to fine-tune their expectations for the nonfarm payrolls report due on Friday, though it is not always accurate in predicting the outcome. The overhaul is meant to bring ADP's numbers more in line with the government's final revised jobs figures.