ADP Jobs Report: Private Employers Add 86,000 Jobs as Services Orders Cool

U.S. private employers added 86,000 jobs in October, according to the ADP jobs report released Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. That beat economists’ estimate of 75,000 and matched September’s revised gain. A separate survey from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) showed that the services sector kept growing in October, though more slowly. Its gauge of new orders fell by almost 4 points.

Key figures: ADP: +86,000 private jobs (est. 75,000) · professional & business services -27,000, a third straight drop · job-changers’ pay +4.8%, job-stayers’ +3% · ISM services PMI 54.5 (est. 54.8) · new orders 55.9, down from 59.8 · prices index 73.0

Where the jobs came from

Trade, transportation and utilities led with 39,000 new jobs, ADP said. Education and health services added 28,000, leisure and hospitality 19,000, financial activities 15,000, construction 13,000 and other services 10,000.

Professional and business services shed 27,000 jobs, the third monthly decline in a row. Natural resources and mining lost 8,000 and information 2,000. By company size, firms with 50 to 499 workers added 33,000, small businesses 28,000 and large employers 24,000.

Pay growth stayed steady. Workers who stayed in their jobs saw annual pay gains of 3%, while those who changed jobs got 4.8%, ADP said. ADP chief economist Nela Richardson discussed the report with CNBC. The 86,000 figure was the same as September’s gain after that month was revised down, so private hiring has held at a modest pace for two months.

ADP jobs report by the numbers

Analysis: The gains came mostly from industries that serve consumers in person, while professional and business services, which includes many office jobs, kept shrinking. The six growing sectors added 124,000 jobs combined, against 37,000 lost in the three shrinking ones. Hiring was also spread evenly across company sizes, so the total does not depend on one group. A gain of 86,000 is well below the pace of job growth in 2024 and early 2025. ADP and the government use different methods, and the two reports often disagree from month to month.

Services keep growing, but orders cool

The ISM services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) slipped to 54.5 from 54.9, a bit under the 54.8 consensus. Readings above 50 signal expansion, and the sector has expanded for 28 straight months. The business activity index fell to 53.8 from 56.5, and new orders fell to 55.9 from 59.8. Employment rose to 51.4 from 50.1. New export orders jumped to 55.2 from 46.9, and backlogs climbed to 58.0 from 56.6.

The prices index eased to 73.0 from 74.0 but stayed high, which means most purchasing managers still reported paying more. ActionForex noted it was the seventh reading above 70 in eight months. Supplier deliveries slowed, with that index rising to 56.7 from 53.2. Steve Miller, who chairs the ISM services survey committee, said the October reading is consistent with roughly 2% growth in the economy’s gross domestic product.

Analysis: A falling orders index next to a rising employment index suggests companies were still hiring in October even as demand cooled. The 73.0 prices reading is far above the neutral 50 level and points to continued cost pressure on services. That matters for inflation and for the Federal Reserve as it weighs its next move on interest rates.

What comes next

The Labor Department’s official October jobs report is due Friday, Nov. 6. Economists expect it to show 59,000 nonfarm payroll jobs added, compared with 29,000 in September. The consumer price index for October follows on Nov. 10. Bond traders were already reacting to the midterm elections on Wednesday (our story on Treasury yields). Our U.S. economy tracker will update after Friday’s report.

Sources

• ADP Research: National Employment Report, October 2026
• Institute for Supply Management via PR Newswire: Services PMI at 54.5%; October 2026 ISM Services PMI Report
• CNBC: Private companies added 86,000 jobs in October, slightly higher than expected, ADP says
• Reuters via Investing.com: US private payrolls rise in October, ADP says
• ActionForex: US ISM services slips to 54.5 as orders slow sharply, but employment improves