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.
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 buildout, 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 its highest level since March 2025.