U.S. companies reduced jobs in October, suggesting some labor market stabilization, reports showed Wednesday. Meanwhile, the service sector's modest expansion cooled a bit in October.
Private employers shed 203,000 jobs in October. It was the smallest decline since July 2008, according to the ADP Employment Report. It also was the seventh straight month of smaller job losses after those losses peaked at 736,000 in March. September's decline was revised to 227,000 jobs from the initial report of 254,000.
Economists expected ADP's report, jointly developed with Macroeconomic Advisers, to show an October decline of 198,000 private-sector jobs. The ADP figures are seen by some analysts as a proxy for the government's closely watched report on nonfarm payrolls.
