A survey showed that U.S. small businesses added fewer jobs in October than in the previous month and reduced working hours for employees, Reuters reported.   

Payrolls processing company Intuit Inc. said small businesses created 30,000 jobs for the month after adding 40,000 workers in September.

The survey covered the period from Sept. 24 to Oct. 23 and is based on responses from about 66,000 employers at businesses with fewer than 20 employees who use the Intuit Online Payroll system.

The average workweek for small business fell 0.2 percent to 24.5 hours. However, the average monthly salary was little changed at $2,622.

The government will release its closely watched employment report for October on Friday. Nonfarm payrolls likely increased 95,000, according to a Reuters survey, after rising 103,000 in September.

Part of the rise in September nonfarm employment was because of the return to payrolls of 45,000 Verizon Communications Inc. workers following a strike.