ADP: private employers added 86,000 jobs in October, and job-changers got 4.8% raises

Private employers added 86,000 jobs in October, according to ADP's National Employment Report, published Wednesday at 8:15 a.m. ET. That matched September's total, which ADP revised down, and beat the Dow Jones estimate of 75,000, CNBC reported. Investing.com and MarketWatch carried the same number.

Where the jobs were

Sector	October change
Trade, transportation and utilities	+39,000
Education and health services	+28,000
Leisure and hospitality	+19,000
Financial activities	+15,000
Construction	+13,000
Other services	+10,000
Information	-2,000
Natural resources and mining	-8,000
Professional and business services	-27,000

The figures are as CNBC reported them. CNBC noted that information services, a sector that could be affected by the AI build-out, lost 2,000 jobs. The bigger drop was in professional and business services, down 27,000.

The number behind the number: firm size

Companies with 50 to 499 workers added 33,000 jobs, small firms added 28,000 and large businesses added 24,000, per CNBC. By our arithmetic, that is about 39% from the middle tier, 33% from small firms and 28% from large employers. In September, hiring leaned heavily on mid-sized firms ( 54,000 of 90,000 in our earlier report). October was more evenly spread, and small firms are doing more of the lifting.

Pay: movers win, stayers lag

Job-changers saw pay rise 4.8% from a year earlier. Workers who stayed put saw 3%. Overall base pay rose 3.2% and gross pay 4.7%, CNBC reported. ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said earnings growth for job-changers was the fastest since March 2024, helped by "bonuses, overtime, and more hours in addition to higher base pay." CNBC also noted that the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday that quits hit their highest level since March 2025.

For owners, that is a practical warning. A 1.8-point gap between the pay of movers and stayers (4.8% vs. 3%) is the cost of keeping a good employee who has a recruiter calling. On a $50,000 salary, 1.8 points is $900 a year, our arithmetic. That is often cheaper than replacing the person.

Who it hits

Trucking and distribution. The lead sector, trade, transportation and utilities, added 39,000 jobs, the most of any group. Warehouses and carriers hiring into the holiday season also compete with each other for drivers and pickers.

Restaurants and hotels. Leisure and hospitality added 19,000, slower than the 22,000 reported for September in our earlier story, but still positive.

Contractors. Construction added 13,000.

141,913 independent construction and contractors are listed on CheckThisBiz, a directory of 7,704,724 independent US businesses, including 12,896 in TX, 12,642 in CA, 11,414 in FL. Chains and franchises are excluded from that count, so these are the owner-operated businesses that actually apply for funding.

Consulting and staffing-type firms. The 27,000 loss in professional and business services is the one place where headcount is shrinking, which can mean more available talent for small firms nearby.

What's next

ADP is a precursor to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report due Friday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect October nonfarm payrolls to show a gain of 59,000, after a modest 29,000 in September, CNBC reported. The two reports often disagree: ADP has now printed 86,000 for two months running while the government figure was only 29,000 for September. See our September jobs report story.

Sources: CNBC; Investing.com; MarketWatch; ADP National Employment Report; industry counts from CheckThisBiz. Shares and the salary example are our calculations. This is market information, not investment advice.