Private sector created nearly 15,000 jobs a week over the past month, preliminary ADP data shows

Private sector employers added an average 14,250 jobs per week over the past four weeks, according to new preliminary data being released by ADP, a turnaround from the negative September numbers.

Stepping into the void created by the government shutdown, ADP will now release a four-week average weekly change in employment with a two-week lag every Tuesday. Today’s number is the four-week average ended Oct. 11.

“ADP’s near real-time employment data, released weekly, will now provide an even clearer picture of the labor market at this critical time for the economy … providing a dynamic view of job creation and loss at an unprecedented level of weekly detail,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP.

This preliminary data will be different from the better-known and closely followed National Employment Report, generally released on the Wednesday before the government’s payroll number. The NER measures the monthly change in job growth during the week that contains the 12th of the month and provides detail of job growth by sector.

The preliminary data, which can serve as a guide to the monthly data, offers a four-week moving average of weekly job growth. It will be revised monthly with the release of the NER.

The 14,250 increase suggests monthly job growth totaled around 55,000 for the four-week period, compared with a loss of -32,000 reported for September in the NER. However, the total is subject to revision with the release of the NER.