Employment at U.S. companies increased in October, signaling some stabilization in the job market after two straight months of declines.

Private-sector payrolls increased by 42,000 after a revised 29,000 decline a month earlier, according to ADP Research data released Wednesday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 30,000 gain.

The ADP report is one of the few monthly snapshots of the labor market as the longest government shutdown in U.S. history delays the releases of official economic data. While helping to temper concerns of a faster deterioration in the job market, the modest payrolls increase last month is consistent with a general softening in labor demand.

"Hiring was modest relative to what we reported earlier this year," Nela Richardson, chief e

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