ADP: Small Businesses Add 102K Jobs in October

Hiring is up this autumn, with small businesses adding 102,000 jobs in October according to the latest report from private payroll processor ADP. This is the third time in the last year that monthly gains on Main St. have exceeded the 100,000 mark. In September, small businesses added 93,000 new positions. Overall, ADP reports that private-sector businesses created 230,000 new jobs in October. Medium-sized businesses with between 50 and 499 employees led job creation, adding 122,000 new positions. "Employment continues to trend upward as we begin the last quarter of 2014, driven mostly by small to mid-sized companies,” ADP president and CEO Carlos Rodriquez said. “October’s job growth is the highest since June and the second highest gain of 2014.” Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi said he believes private businesses will continue to add jobs at a healthy rate in the foreseeable future. “The unemployment and underemployment rates are coming in declining almost at a percentage point per annum,” Zandi said. Even if workers who have stepped out of the workforce re-enter the job market, Zandi predicted the U.S. economy will achieve full employment by Election Day 2016. Zandi added that job growth could even accelerate in the near future, if housing construction picks up significantly. This would have a significant impact particularly on smaller businesses. The ADP National Employment Report is based on private payroll data from over 400,000 businesses in the U.S. According to the ADP, the report includes information from nearly 24 million U.S. workers.