Companies added more workers than projected in September, evidence the labor market may be perking up, a private report based on payrolls showed.
The 162,000 increase in employment followed a revised 189,000 jump in August, figures from Roseland, New Jersey-based ADP Employer Services showed today. The median forecast of 38 economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected a 140,000 advance.
Continued employment gains will help shore up consumer confidence and spending, in turn bolstering economic growth in the U.S. A Labor Department report on Oct. 5 may show private payrolls increased by 128,000 in September and unemployment rose to 8.2 percent from 8.1 percent the prior month, according to the Bloomberg survey median.
“The U.S. labor market continues to show modest improvement,” Jason Schenker, president of Prestige Economics LLC. in Austin, Texas, said before the report. “Conditions are more conducive to hiring.”
Estimates for the ADP employment figures ranged from 90,000 to 190,000 in the Bloomberg survey.
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