Reflecting strong job growth at large businesses, payroll processor ADP released a report on Wednesday showing stronger than expected private sector job growth in the month of September.
The report said private sector employment jumped by 200,000 jobs in September following a downwardly revised increase of 186,000 jobs in August.
Economists had expected an increase of about 190,000 jobs, which would have matched the job growth originally reported for the previous month.
"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, VP and head of the ADP Research Institute.
She added, "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 report said large businesses added 106,000 jobs during the month, while employment at medium and small businesses climbed by 56,000 jobs and 37,000 jobs, respectively.
ADP also said employment in the service-providing sector increased by 188,000 jobs in September after climbing by 172,000 jobs in August.
Employment in the trade/transportation/utilities industry grew by 39,000 jobs, while the professional/business services industry contributed 29,000 jobs.
The report also said goods-producing employment rose by 12,000 jobs in September, as the construction industry added 35,000 jobs, nearly double the increase in August.
On the other hand, employment in the manufacturing sector fell by 15,000 jobs, reflecting the worst performance since December of 2010.
"Despite job losses in the energy and manufacturing industries, the economy is creating close to 200,000 jobs per month," said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics. "At this pace full employment is fast approaching."
Friday morning, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its closely watched monthly employment report, which includes both public and private sector jobs.
Economists expect the report to show an increase of about 203,000 jobs in September following the addition of 173,000 jobs in August. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 5.1 percent.
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