ADP reports that private payrolls experienced unexpected growth of 143,000 in September.

• In September, private companies created 143,000 jobs, exceeding the 103,000 jobs added in August and surpassing the 128,000 jobs predicted in the consensus forecast, according to ADP's report on Wednesday.
• The leisure and hospitality sector experienced the highest job gains with 34,000 new jobs, followed closely by construction with 26,000 new jobs and education and health services with 24,000 new jobs.

Despite some signs of weakness, the labor market is holding its ground as indicated by the private sector hiring picking up in September, according to a report by payrolls processing firm ADP on Wednesday.

The number of jobs added by companies in September was 143,000, which is an increase from the previously estimated 103,000 in August and exceeds the consensus forecast of 128,000 jobs from economists surveyed by Dow Jones.

The rate of pay growth decreased for both job switchers and those staying in their jobs, with job switchers experiencing a 0.7 percentage point drop in their 12-month gain from August.

The distribution of job gains was widespread, with leisure and hospitality leading the way at 34,000, followed by construction at 26,000, education and health services at 24,000, professional and business services at 20,000, and other services at 17,000.

Information services was the lone category posting a loss, down 10,000.

Goods producers made up the remaining percentage of the total, while service providers accounted for 101,000.

Companies with more than 50 employees experienced all of the growth, while small firms with fewer than 20 workers suffered a loss of 13,000.

The ADP count, which is released two days before the Labor Department's nonfarm payrolls report, is expected to show growth of 150,000, following August's disappointing showing of 142,000, of which 118,000 came from private sector hiring.

The official count may differ significantly from the ADP report, even though it serves as a preliminary estimate.

The Federal Reserve is closely monitoring the jobs numbers as they consider their next move for monetary policy and interest rates. In a speech on Monday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell described the labor market as "solid" but noted that it has "cooled" over the past year.

Will the Fed make another half percentage point rate cut in November and December, or will it opt for a more conventional quarter-point move?

The futures market suggests a quarter-point reduction in interest rates in November, followed by a half-point increase in December. Powell has stated that sequential quarter-point adjustments are more probable now, but policymakers will remain vigilant to the data and make any necessary changes.