ADP-Moody's report: U.S. added 125,000 jobs in October

Oct. 30 (UPI) -- The United States added 125,000 jobs during the month of October, ADP and Moody's Analytics said in their report Wednesday.

The figure exceeds the 100,000 jobs many analysts predicted for the month. The Labor Department's official October jobs report will be released Friday.

The greatest growth -- 64,000 jobs -- was seen among medium-sized businesses, the report said.

ADP-Moody's said large businesses added 44,000 workers to their payrolls while small businesses expanded by 17,000.

On the other end, the producing sector saw losses of 13,000 jobs.

"Job growth has throttled way back over the past year," Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics, said in a statement. "The job slowdown is most pronounced at manufacturers and small companies. If hiring weakens any further, unemployment will begin to rise."

"While job growth continues to soften, there are certain segments of the labor market that remain strong," Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute, added, noting gains in the healthcare industry.

The report came hours before a policy announcement by the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday afternoon. The central bank is expected by most analysts to cut key interest rates for the third time this year.