Private companies added 86,000 jobs in October, slightly higher than expected, ADP says

Private-sector job growth held steady in October, with gains spread across sectors, as the labor market showed fresh signs of stabilization, ADP reported Wednesday.

The payrolls processing firm said companies added 86,000 jobs during the month, the same as the downwardly revised total for September and slightly ahead of the Dow Jones estimate for 75,000.

Employment gains came mainly in the service sector.

Trade, transportation and utilities led with 39,000 new jobs, while education and health services added 28,000 and leisure and hospitality contributed 19,000. Other sectors showing gains included financial activities (15,000), construction (13,000) and other services (10,000).

However, some of the gains were offset by a decline of 27,000 in professional and business services and a loss of 8,000 in natural resources and mining. Information services, a sector potentially impacted by the artificial intelligence build-out, lost 2,000 jobs.

Salaries continued to show gains, particularly for those changing jobs — those workers saw a 4.8% annual gain. A report Tuesday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the number of people quitting their job, a sign of labor market mobility, hit their highest level since March 2025.

Workers overall saw a 3.2% base-pay gain, while gross pay increased 4.7% annually. Pay for those staying in their jobs rose 3%.

"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," said ADP chief economist Nela Richardson. "Taken together, earnings growth for these workers hit its fastest pace since March 2024."

Companies with between 50 and 499 workers added 33,000 jobs. Large businesses added 24,000, while small firms increased rolls by 28,000.

The ADP report serves as a precursor to the BLS nonfarm payrolls count to be released Friday.