Companies in the United States cut an estimated 203,000 jobs in October, according to a private report based on payroll data.

The drop compares with a revised 227,000 decline the prior month, data from ADP Employer Services showed on Wednesday. The figures were forecast to show a decline of 198,000 jobs, according to the median estimate of 34 economists in a Bloomberg survey.

 

The report comes two days before a Labor Department release that is forecast to show the unemployment rate rose to 9.9% in October, the highest since 1983, while employers cut 175,000 jobs.