Economic Watch: September Job Additions Total 200,000

Private sector employment increased by 200,000 jobs from August to September, according to a new report from the payroll processor ADP, two days before federal job numbers are released.

ADP's National Employment Report shows despite one having one of the best overall monthly numbers so far this year, manufacturing employment dropped into negative territory. The loss of 15,000 jobs was the worst performance since December 2010.

“The U.S. job machine continues to produce jobs at a strong and consistent pace,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. “Despite job losses in the energy and manufacturing industries, the economy is creating close to 200,000 jobs per month. At this pace full employment is fast approaching.”

Goods-producing employment rose by 12,000 jobs in September, off from 15,000 the previous month, while service-providing employment rose by 188,000 jobs in September, up from 172,000 in August, including 39,000 in the trade, transportation and utilities category.

"Businesses with more than 1,000 employees contributed over half of the job gains in September, despite weakness in energy and manufacturing,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and head of the ADP Research Institute. “The largest companies appear to be starting to overcome the impacts of weak global demand and the high dollar, while the smallest companies may have pulled back as concerns about the resiliency of the U.S. economy grew and consumer confidence softened.”

The August total of jobs added was revised downward from 190,000 to 186,000.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predict that when federal job numbers are released Friday morning, it will show 202,000 jobs gains during September. Regardless of what the actual number is, it will no doubt be scrutinized by the Federal Reserve in trying to determine if it will hike interest rates later this year.