Private employers added 86K jobs in October, payroll processor ADP reported Wednesday, a second straight month of steady gains that pointed to a labor market finding its footing.
The total matched September's downwardly revised 86K and landed above forecasts. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had estimated 75K, while other polls put the consensus nearer 67K and 69K.
Two months of steady hiring is the headline for a labor market that spent much of the year looking shaky. The internals tell a split story: services did the hiring, white-collar work kept shrinking, and the biggest pay gains went to workers who changed jobs.
"You have back-to-back, two consecutive straight months of pretty solid job growth."
Nela Richardson, ADP
Services carried the month, white-collar roles did not
Trade, transportation, and utilities led with 39K new jobs, a sign that goods movement and retail staffing held up heading into the holidays.
Education and health services added 28K, leisure and hospitality 19K, financial activities 15K, construction 13K, and other services 10K.
Professional and business services went the other way, shedding 27K roles. Natural resources and mining lost 8K, information lost 2K, and manufacturing lost 1K.
Trade and Transport Led October Hiring While Business Services Shrank
Change in US private payrolls by sector, October 2026, thousands of jobs
Bar chart. Trade, transportation and utilities: Change in Jobs (Thousands) 39. Education and health services: Change in Jobs (Thousands) 28. Leisure and hospitality: Change in Jobs (Thousands) 19. Financial activities: Change in Jobs (Thousands) 15. Construction: Change in Jobs (Thousands) 13. Other services: Change in Jobs (Thousands) 10. Natural resources and mining: Change in Jobs (Thousands) -8. Professional and business services: Change in Jobs (Thousands) -27.
Source: CNBC, Fox Business, Continuum Economics
Construction, holding at 13K, stood out given the slowdown in housing, with data centers the likely driver.
Hiring was spread across company sizes. Firms with 50 to 499 workers added 33K jobs, small businesses 28K, and large employers 24K.
Pay gains favor the people who leave
Workers who switched jobs saw pay rise 4.8% from a year earlier, the fastest pace since March 2024.
Those who stayed put got 3%. Base pay across private workers rose 3.2%, still trailing inflation, while gross pay including overtime and bonuses climbed 4.7%.
ADP's chief economist Nela Richardson credited bonuses, overtime, and extra hours alongside higher base pay for luring job changers.
The pay spread helps explain why quits are climbing. The number of people voluntarily leaving jobs hit its highest level since March 2025, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday. That report landed a day before ADP's count.
Workers quit when they believe another job is waiting, so the uptick reads as confidence rather than distress.
The Labor Department's nonfarm payrolls report lands Friday and covers both public and private employers. The government survey is broader and can differ notably from ADP's private-only tally. Economists expect a gain of 65K, with unemployment holding at 4.2%.
ADP and the government count differ often enough that one strong print doesn't guarantee another. Continuum Economics had forecast 45K private and 50K overall, and it noted that September's ADP rebound, first reported at 90K, has since been revised down. The firm flagged the ADP figure alongside low jobless claims as upside risk to that call.
Friday's number feeds straight into the Federal Reserve's rate debate, where a firmer labor market trims the case for faster cuts. A soft print would cut the other way and give the doves more room.
