ADP report points to steady modest hiring in US

US job creation held to a modest pace in October, according to the private-sector estimates of payrolls group ADP on Wednesday.

The ADP national employment report said businesses increased hires by 182,000 last month, down 8,000 from September and roughly at the average for the past four months.

Hiring in the construction industry was strong at 35,000 added jobs, and a similar number in trade, transportation and utilities. The manufacturing sector, particularly hit by both an export slowdown and the slump in the oil industry, shed 2,000 jobs.

"Large companies continue to be negatively impacted by trends such as low oil prices and the strong dollar driving weaker exports," said Ahu Yildirmaz, head of the ADP Research Institute.

"On the other hand, small businesses can benefit from these same trends."

Analysts said that although the ADP report often skews from the Labor Department's more closely watched monthly jobs report, to be released on Friday, the ADP numbers confirm a steady but not strong pace of hiring in the economy.

"The ADP data continue to show no sign of any significant slowing on a trend basis. That is also the message from jobless claims," said Jim O'Sullivan at High Frequency Economics.

For Friday's job numbers, including both private and public sector hiring, analysts forecast 181,000 net new jobs in October, up from 142,000 a month earlier, with the unemployment rate holding at 5.1 percent.