ADP said U.S. private employers added 86,000 jobs in October, matching September’s revised gain and topping a Reuters poll forecast ahead of the federal government’s separate jobs report.
The increase exceeded the 69,000 jobs economists expected in the Reuters poll. ADP revised September’s gain to 86,000 from 90,000, leaving October’s total level with the updated figure.
Service-providing businesses accounted for 82,000 of October’s jobs, compared with 4,000 in goods-producing industries. Trade, transportation and utilities led sector gains with 39,000 jobs. Professional and business services recorded the largest sector loss, down 27,000 for a third consecutive month, while information employment fell by 2,000.
Private-sector base pay rose 3.2% year over year, and gross pay increased 4.7%, ADP reported. Among workers who changed jobs, base pay rose 4.8% and gross pay increased 7.6%. For those who stayed in their jobs, the respective gains were 3% and 4.4%.
ADP chief economist Dr. Nela Richardson said employers of all sizes were hiring. She said bonuses, overtime, longer hours and higher base pay helped attract job-changers, whose earnings growth “hit its fastest pace since March 2024.”
ADP released the October report at 8:15 a.m. ET Wednesday. ADP Research and the Stanford Digital Economy Lab produce the monthly National Employment Report from anonymized weekly payroll data covering more than 26 million U.S. private-sector employees. The monthly report differs from ADP’s weekly NER Pulse measure, which EconoTimes has covered previously.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) September Employment Situation included establishment payroll figures and labor-force measures from a household survey. The agency is scheduled to publish its separate October report Friday, Nov. 6, at 8:30 a.m. ET.
