US private employers added 86,000 jobs in October, beating economists’ expectations and matching September’s revised gain, according to the ADP National Employment Report published on Wednesday.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected a gain of 69,000, after a previously reported September increase of 90,000 that ADP revised down to 86,000. The report, produced by ADP with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab from payroll data covering more than 26 million US private-sector workers, is the first of two key jobs readings this week.
Services accounted for almost all of October’s gain, adding 82,000 jobs, while goods-producing industries added just 4,000. Trade, transportation and utilities led the way with 39,000 new jobs, followed by education and health services with 28,000, leisure and hospitality with 19,000 and financial activities with 15,000. Construction added 13,000 jobs, partly offset by losses of 8,000 in natural resources and mining and 1,000 in manufacturing. Professional and business services shed 27,000 jobs, its third consecutive monthly decline, while information lost 2,000.
A separate survey pointed to a slightly cooler, but still expanding, services sector. The Institute for Supply Management said its nonmanufacturing purchasing managers’ index dipped to 54.5 in October from 54.9 in September, against a Reuters poll forecast of 54.8. Readings above 50 signal growth, and services account for more than two-thirds of US economic activity. New orders eased to 55.9 from 59.8, while services employment edged up to 51.4 from 50.1. Prices paid for inputs eased only slightly, to 73.0 from 74.0, and supplier deliveries slowed, with that index rising to 56.7 from 53.2 — signs that cost pressures have not gone away.
The data suggest the labour market remains on a firmer footing despite the uncertainty caused by the US-Israeli war with Iran. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Tuesday that there were 1.06 open jobs for every unemployed person in September, up from 1.02 in August. For the Federal Reserve, which has been raising rates to control high inflation, the combination of steady hiring and sticky services prices keeps the pressure on ahead of its next decisions.
Caution is warranted, however. Reuters notes that ADP has been a poor gauge of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ private payrolls estimate, so Friday’s official report could tell a different story. The BLS is expected to report private payrolls up by 64,000 in October after a 46,000 gain in September, total nonfarm payrolls up by 65,000 after 29,000, and the unemployment rate unchanged at 4.2%.
Note: the featured image is a file photo of two construction workers, taken in 2006, not a photograph of October hiring.
Sources: Reuters, “US private payrolls rise in October, ADP says” (https://ktwb.com/2026/11/04/us-private-payrolls-rise-in-october-adp-says/); Reuters, “US services sector activity cools slightly in October; inflation remains elevated” (https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-services-sector-activity-cools-slightly-october-inflation-remains-elevated-2026-11-04/); ADP National Employment Report, October 2026, sector detail as reported by Seoul Economic Daily (https://en.sedaily.com/international/2026/11/04/us-private-payrolls-rise-86000-in-october-topping-forecasts).
