A preliminary ADP measure showed U.S. private employers adding an average of 19,750 jobs a week through Oct. 24, extending a second straight increase in the company’s rolling labor-market gauge.
ADP Research released the seasonally adjusted NER Pulse estimate Nov. 10. It put the average at 19,500 jobs a week for the four weeks through Oct. 17, after 16,750 for the period through Oct. 10, as reported in an earlier ADP weekly estimate. The newest reading remained below 26,000 jobs a week for the four weeks through Sept. 26.
NER Pulse tracks the average weekly change in private employment over a rolling four-week window. It uses high-frequency ADP data, is adjusted for seasonal patterns and carries a two-week reporting lag. The average is not a count of jobs added in one week or a cumulative total for four weeks, because consecutive readings cover overlapping periods. ADP said the latest estimate is preliminary and could change as more data arrives.
ADP Research and the Stanford Digital Economy Lab produce NER Pulse as a weekly update to ADP’s monthly National Employment Report. ADP’s October employment report estimated that private employers added 86,000 jobs, a monthly figure distinct from NER Pulse’s weekly average. Both ADP measures cover private-sector employment, but the monthly estimate covers October while NER Pulse reports an average across a rolling four-week period.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that nonfarm payroll employment rose by 165,000 in October. That payroll measure includes government jobs. The BLS also reported a 4.1% unemployment rate, based on a separate household survey.
ADP scheduled its next NER Pulse release for Nov. 17.
