ADP September U.S. private jobs increase halved after data overhaul

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The increase in the number of U.S. private-sector jobs in September was only half of what was initially reported, Automatic Data Processing (ADP.O) said after revamping its monthly National Employment Report.

ADP said last week it has overhauled the report to put it more in line with the final revised numbers released by the government in its closely watched nonfarm payrolls report.

As part of the process, ADP has revised its historical data going back to 2001 with its new methodology. September's figures now show a gain of 88,200 private sector jobs for the month, down from the initial figure of 162,000 from its old report.

August was also lowered to 76,400 from 189,000.

October's figures - the first report using the new method - will be released on Thursday. Analysts expect private employers to add 135,000 jobs for the month, according to a Reuters poll.

The historical data was made available last week and is on ADP's web site.

(Reporting By Leah Schnurr; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)