A lot of economists will tell you they don’t have a crystal ball. Nevertheless, they make predictions about forthcoming economic data using all kinds of fancy (and sometimes not so fancy) models. It is not uncommon for economists’ consensus forecasts to be accurate.

With today’s ADP private sector jobs report, that wasn’t the case.

US employers added approximately 89,000 private-sector jobs in September, according to the nation’s largest private payroll processor. According to economists, there would be 153,000 new jobs.

According to my colleague Alicia Wallace, the leisure and hospitality sector added an estimated 92,000 jobs during the month. According to ADP, professional and business services, trade, transportation, and utilities, and manufacturing all declined.

The decline was driven by large businesses with 500 or more employees, which lost 83,000 jobs.

However, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for August showed the opposite, with more jobs available than expected.

With fewer people getting hired, ADP’s latest report gives the impression that the labor market is cooling.