Private-Sector Jobs Rose 86,000 in October, ADP Report Shows
ADP's October employment report shows modest private-sector job growth of 86,000, with base pay up 3.2% and gross pay climbing 4.7%.
Private-sector employers added 86,000 jobs in October, according to the ADP National Employment Report produced by ADP Research in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, signaling a slowdown in hiring momentum heading into the final quarter of 2026.
Wage growth continued to outpace the job-creation figure. Base pay climbed 3.2% year over year, while gross pay — which captures bonuses, overtime, and other supplemental compensation — rose at a faster 4.7% clip, suggesting workers already on payrolls are seeing stronger earnings gains than the pace of new hiring might imply.
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The ADP report, released from Roseland, N.J., is widely watched as an early private-sector gauge ahead of the official U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly jobs report. While the two measures use different methodologies and do not always move in lockstep, a reading of 86,000 would represent a notably softer month if confirmed by government data, as economists have generally tracked monthly private payroll additions in a range well above that figure in recent years.
The divergence between wage growth and hiring volumes may reflect an labor market that is cooling in terms of new job creation while remaining tight enough to sustain meaningful pay increases for existing employees. That dynamic carries implications for Federal Reserve policymakers, who monitor both employment levels and compensation trends when assessing inflationary pressures.
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