NEW YORK - U.S. companies added 158,000 jobs in October, data from a payrolls processor showed on Thursday in a revamped report on the private sector labor market.
The historical data for the ADP National Employment Report was revised as part of the new methodology, which was used for the first time in the October report. September's increase has halved to 88,200 new jobs from an initially reported 162,000.
Economists had forecast October's report would show a gain of 135,000 jobs, according to a Reuters poll.
Economists often refer to the ADP report to fine-tune their expectations for the nonfarm payrolls report due on Friday, though it is not always accurate in predicting the outcome. The overhaul is meant to bring ADP's numbers more in line with the government's final revised jobs figures.
Separately, the number of planned layoffs by firms jumped 41.1 percent in October to the highest level in five months, although the number includes more than 10,000 jobs in U.S.-owned auto plants in Europe, a report from consultants Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., said.
Employers announced 47,724 planned job cuts last month, up from September's 33,816, according to the report. It was the highest level since May.
U.S. automotive companies said they will let go of 11,615 workers, though that includes 10,900 Ford layoffs that will affect workers in Belgium and the United Kingdom.
The planned layoffs were modestly higher than the 42,759 announced in October last year. The total for the year so far stands at 433,725, down from 521,823 for the same period in 2011.
"While the Ford job cuts are not impacting American workers, they indicate just how vulnerable companies in the U.S. are to the situation in Europe", John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a statement.
The last three months of the year tend to see heavier lay-off activity and the weak third-quarter earnings season does not bode well, Challenger said.
The consumer products industry announced 5,250 cuts, while electronics companies laid off 4,491 workers as the sectors were hurt by a slowdown in consumer and business spending.