(Reuters) – U.S. private-sector employers hired the fewest workers in six months in October while tepid domestic demand kept inflation benign last month, suggesting the economy was still in need of stimulus from the Federal Reserve.

The slowdown in private job growth was the latest signal that the labor market has taken a step back in recent months, and the clearest indication yet that a 16-day government shutdown weighed on economic activity.

Officials from the central bank are expected to keep their monthly $85 billion bond-buying pace unchanged when they conclude a two-day meeting later on Wednesday.  Read more