Private-sector hiring maintained steady momentum in October 2026, with U.S. employers adding 86,000 jobs, according to the latest ADP National Employment Report® published Wednesday by ADP Research in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab.
The monthly increase signals a second consecutive month of solid labor demand, while earnings growth for workers switching positions surged to its fastest pace since early 2024.
Service-providing industries drove nearly all net job creation during the month, adding 82,000 positions. In contrast, the goods-producing sector contributed a modest 4,000 jobs, weighed down by losses in natural resources and manufacturing.
The steepest contraction occurred in professional and business services, which shed 27,000 jobs—marking the subsector’s third consecutive month of decline. Meanwhile, trade, transportation, and utilities posted the strongest sector gains, growing by 39,000 jobs.
Job gains were widely distributed across business sizes, though medium-sized enterprises led overall hiring:
- Medium Establishments (50–499 employees): +33,000 jobs
- Small Establishments (1–49 employees): +28,000 jobs
- Large Establishments (500+ employees): +24,000 jobs
Geographically, the South (+47,000) and the West (+28,000) represented the primary drivers of growth, led by strong gains in the West South Central (+35,000) and Pacific (+27,000) subregions. The Midwest added 9,000 jobs, while the Northeast saw modest net growth of 3,000 positions.
Year-over-year median base pay across all private-sector employees rose 3.2%, while total gross pay increased 4.7%.
Pay growth remained largely stable for workers remaining in their current roles (“job-stayers”), who saw a median base pay increase of 3.0%. However, workers moving to new employers (“job-changers”) experienced a substantial boost, with base pay climbing 4.8% and gross pay jumping 7.6%.
“Employers of all sizes were hiring last month, and our data suggests that job-changers were lured by a combination of bonuses, overtime, and more hours in addition to higher base pay,” Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, said. “Taken together, earnings growth for these workers hit its fastest pace since March 2024.”
