U.S. private sector employment rose in September, suggesting the labor market is holding stable, despite some signs of weakness.
Companies added 143,000 jobs during the month, an acceleration from an upwardly adjusted 103,000 jobs in August and better than the consensus forecast of 128,000.
While employment increased, wage growth fell again. The 12-month gain for those who remained in their jobs fell to 4.7 percent, while it fell to 6.6 percent for those who changed jobs, down 0.7 percentage points from August.
The census comes ahead of the Labor Department's nonfarm payroll report, which is expected to show growth of 150,000 jobs, following August's disappointing performance of 142,000 jobs, of which 118,000 came from private sector employment.
