By Geoffrey Smith
Investing.com -- The U.S. private sector picked up the pace of hiring again in October, defying expectations of a slowdown and potentially crimping the Federal Reserve's ability to ease up on the pace of its interest rate hikes.
Payrolls processor ADP (NASDAQ:ADP) said private-sector employment had risen by 239,000 through the middle of the month, from 192,000 a month earlier. September's figure was revised down from an originally reported 208,000. Analysts had expected a figure of around 195,000.
As with the Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey for September, which was released on Tuesday, the numbers appear to suggest that the labor market is still red hot, despite the Fed's attempts to cool demand by raising interest rates sharply this year.
"Employer demand remains robust and the supply of workers is improving--for now," ADP's chief economist Nela Richardson said in a statement.
The Fed is expected to announce another 75 basis point increase in the target range for Fed Funds later Wednesday, taking its upper limit to 4.0%.