USA stocks waver in early trading; jobs, earnings on radar

The report said the private sector added 182,000 jobs in October following a downwardly revised increase of 190,000 jobs in September. In its report, ADP also revised September’s figure down to 190,000 from 200,000. It appears oil prices and a strong dollar (or should we say recent currency manipulation) are impacting large businesses and their global activity whereas small businesses are benefiting from the cheaper energy prices.

The goods-producing sector had its best month of 2015, although manufacturing shed 2,000 jobs in October.

As a bellwether for the official government report on job creation, ADP has had a rocky record, especially of late.

Meanwhile, employment among companies with 50-499 employees increased by 63,000 jobs, up 50 percent from the previous month.

ADP’s report is based on data gathered from businesses that have approximately 24 million workers on their payrolls combined. Construction stayed strong, with 35,000 jobs added, about the same as in September.

Data from the Labor Department is due on Friday and might show that private payroll increased by 170,000 workers during October, following a few slowdown in the two months prior.

Recently, the ADP figures have been rosier than the government’s.

“The economy is creating close to 200,000 jobs per month”, Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc.in West Chester, Pennsylvania, said in a statement. Small businesses added 90,000 slots, offsetting a cool-down in hiring at large companies.

The service sector, which accounts for most of the economy’s jobs and has been offsetting a weak manufacturing sector, added 158,000 positions in October, down from 188,000 in September. It was the same story in August, as the ADP report overshot the government’s numbers by roughly 46,000. Economists estimate that the unemployment rate dipped to 5.0% as more people move onto the sidelines of the labor force.

The October jobs report is widely seen as an important gauge for whether or not the Fed will raise interest rates at its December meeting.