BUSINESS BRIEF

October job growth lowest in 6 months

10/31/2013

WASHINGTON — U.S. private-sector employers hired the fewest workers in six months in October while tepid domestic demand kept inflation benign last month, suggesting the economy was still in need of stimulus from the Federal Reserve.

The slowdown was the clearest indication yet that the 16-day partial government shutdown weighed on economic activity.

Employers in the private sector added 130,000 jobs this month, the ADP National Employment Report showed on Wednesday, the lowest since April and below economists’ expectations for a gain of 150,000 jobs.

In small businesses, payrolls increased 37,000 last month, well below the 68,000 jobs created in September.