In response to ADP, a complete of 233,000 personal jobs have been created in October, way over anticipated

Private job creation reached its highest level in more than a year in October, despite a devastating storm season in the Southeast and significant work disruptions, ADP reported Wednesday.

Companies hired 233,000 new workers this month, more than the upwardly revised 159,000 in September and well above the Dow Jones estimate of 113,000, according to the payroll company. ADP said it was the best month for job creation since July 2023.

“Even amid the post-hurricane recovery, job growth was strong in October,” said ADP Chief Economist Nela Richardson. “At the end of the year, U.S. hiring policies are proving robust and resilient overall.”

The numbers contradict expectations of a slowdown in October after two brutal hurricanes – Helene and Milton – devastated the Southeast, with Florida and North Carolina particularly hard hit.

In addition, there are work disruptions among dock workers and Boeing The numbers were also expected to impact payrolls, with some economists suggesting October would be an outlier report that Federal Reserve officials would largely reject at their meeting next week.

However, the ADP report shows that the labor market has held up. In addition to increasing hiring, wages also increased by 4.6% compared to the previous year.

Furthermore, the gains were widespread. Leading sectors included education and healthcare (53,000), trade, transport and utilities (51,000), construction and leisure and hospitality, which added 37,000 each, and professional and business services, which contributed 31,000.

Manufacturing was the only sector to report losses, down 19,000 from the previous month, as the Boeing strike has sidelined 33,000 of the company's workers since September 13.

Job creation was heavily concentrated in companies with 500 or more employees, accounting for 140,000 employees. Companies with fewer than 50 employees saw little change, contributing just 4,000 to the total.

The ADP report traditionally compares the Bureau of Labor Statistics' more closely watched nonfarm payrolls. That report, out Friday, is expected to show growth of just 100,000 and the unemployment rate steady at 4.1%.

However, the ADP and BLS reports can vary significantly, with the latter including government employees. The BLS report showed private employment gains of 223,000 and total payrolls increased by 254,000 in September.

Correction: Non-farm payroll numbers come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. An earlier version misstated the agency's name.