ADP Private Payrolls Rise 86,000 in October; ISM Services at 54.5

U.S. private-sector employment rose by 86,000 jobs in October, ADP said Wednesday, Nov. 4, in its National Employment Report, produced with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab. The same day, the Institute for Supply Management said its services PMI was 54.5% in October, down from 54.9%, with its employment index up to 51.4%.

ADP revised its September figure to 86,000 from 90,000, so October's gain matched the revised September number. The report is based on anonymized weekly payroll data covering more than 26 million private-sector workers, ADP said.

What did the ADP October jobs report show?

Service providers added 82,000 jobs and goods producers 4,000, ADP said.

Sector (ADP)	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
Manufacturing	-1,000
Natural resources and mining	-8,000
Professional and business services	-27,000

Source: ADP National Employment Report, Nov. 4, 2026.

Hiring was spread across employer sizes: small establishments added 28,000 jobs, medium ones 33,000 and large ones 24,000. By region, the South added 47,000 and the West 28,000.

Pay growth held steady. Median base pay rose 3.2% from a year earlier for all workers, 3.0% for people who stayed in their jobs and 4.8% for job-changers, ADP Pay Insights showed. Gross pay, which includes bonuses and overtime, rose 4.7% overall and 7.6% for job-changers. "Taken together, earnings growth for these workers hit its fastest pace since March 2024," said Nela Richardson, ADP's chief economist, referring to job-changers.

What did the ISM services survey say about jobs and prices?

ISM's services employment index rose 1.3 points to 51.4%, its second straight month above 50, the line between growth and contraction. Six industries reported higher employment and seven reported lower, ISM said.

ISM services index	October	September
Services PMI	54.5%	54.9%
Business activity	53.8%	56.5%
New orders	55.9%	59.8%
Employment	51.4%	50.1%
Prices	73.0%	74.0%
Backlog of orders	58.0%	56.6%

Source: ISM Services PMI Report, Nov. 4, 2026.

The services PMI has been in expansion for 28 straight months, and all 10 of ISM's services indexes were above 50 for the first time since February, said Steve Miller, chair of ISM's Services Business Survey Committee. The prices index has topped 60% for 23 straight months. Miller said tariffs and fuel costs were the most-cited supply-chain issues, and many respondents had not yet passed those costs to customers. "This indicates that more pricing pressure is on the way if oil and tariff cost impacts are not mitigated," he said. The backlog of orders index was the highest since July 2022.

What does this mean for Friday's jobs report?

ADP and ISM both showed modest private hiring in October, but neither forecasts the government count. ADP's figure is an independent measure, and the Labor Department's survey uses different methods. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will publish the October Employment Situation on Friday, Nov. 6, at 8:30 a.m. ET, its release schedule shows. Tuesday's September JOLTS report showed openings at 7.5 million and quits rising.

For the Fed, firm services prices and steady pay growth come ahead of its final 2026 meeting on Dec. 8–9, which the Fed's calendar marks with new economic projections. The Fed held its target range at 3.75% to 4% on Oct. 28; see the FOMC meeting schedule for 2026 and 2027 and the latest 10-year Treasury yield, which closed at 4.90% on Nov. 4, Treasury data show.

ADP's November report is due Wednesday, Dec. 2, at 8:15 a.m. ET.