ADP National Employment Report: Private Sector Employment Increased by 22,000 Jobs in January; Annual Pay was Up 4.5%

ROSELAND, N.J., Feb. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Private sector employment increased by 22,000 jobs in January and pay was up 4.5 percent year-over-year according to the January ADP National Employment Report® produced by ADP Research in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab ("Stanford Lab").  

The ADP National Employment Report is an independent measure of the labor market based on the anonymized weekly payroll data of more than 26 million private-sector employees in the United States. ADP's Pay Insights captures over 15 million individual pay change observations each month. Together, the jobs report and pay insights use ADP's fine-grained data to provide a representative and high-frequency picture of the private-sector labor market.

"Job creation took a step back in 2025, with private employers adding 398,000 jobs, down from 771,000 in 2024," said Dr. Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP. "While we've seen a continuous and dramatic slowdown in job creation for the past three years, wage growth has remained stable."

January 2026 Report Highlights

View the ADP National Employment Report and interactive charts at www.adpemploymentreport.com.

JOBS REPORT

Private employers added 22,000 jobs in January

In a lackluster month for hiring, the education and health services sector was a standout, adding 74,000 jobs. Leading the slowdown was manufacturing, which has lost jobs every month since March 2024, professional and business services, and large employers.

Change in U.S. Private Employment:     22,000

Change by Industry

-Goods-producing:     1,000

• Natural resources/mining     0
• Construction     9,000
• Manufacturing     -8,000

-Service-providing:     21,000

• Trade/transportation/utilities     4,000
• Information     -5,000
• Financial activities     14,000
• Professional/business services     -57,000
• Education/health services     74,000
• Leisure/hospitality     4,000
• Other services     -13,000

Change by U.S. Regions

-Northeast:     17,000

• New England     6,000
• Mid-Atlantic     11,000

-Midwest:     25,000

• East North Central     8,000
• West North Central     17,000

-South:     -10,000

• South Atlantic     -76,000
• East South Central     19,000
• West South Central     47,000

-West:     -11,000

• Mountain     11,000
• Pacific     -22,000

Change by Establishment Size

-Small establishments:     0

• 1-19 employees     30,000
• 20-49 employees     -30,000

-Medium establishments:     41,000

• 50-249 employees     37,000
• 250-499 employees     4,000

-Large establishments:     -18,000

• 500+ employees     -18,000

PAY INSIGHTS

Pay for job-stayers rose 4.5 percent in January

Pay growth for job-stayers was little changed in January at 4.5 percent year-over-year. For job-changers, annualized pay growth slowed to 6.4 percent from 6.6 percent.

Median Change in Annual Pay

-Job-stayers     4.5%

-Job-changers     6.4%

Median Change in Annual Pay for Job-Stayers by Industry

-Goods-producing:                                                    

• Natural resources/mining     4.3%
• Construction     4.7%
• Manufacturing     5.0%

-Service-providing:                                               

• Trade/transportation/utilities     4.3%
• Information     4.1%
• Financial activities     5.2%
• Professional/business services     4.3%
• Education/health services     4.4%
• Leisure/hospitality     4.7%
• Other services     4.1%

Median Change in Annual Pay for Job-Stayers by Firm Size

-Small firms:                                                                

• 1-19 employees     2.5%
• 20-49 employees     4.1%

-Medium firms:                                                             

• 50-249 employees     4.7%
• 250-499 employees     4.8%

-Large firms:                                                                

• 500+ employees     5.0%

To see Pay Insights by U.S. State, Gender, and Age for Job-Stayers, visit here:

The December total number of jobs added was revised from 41,000 to 37,000.

The January 2026 report reflects a scheduled annual revision of the ADP National Employment Report. The data series has been reweighted to match the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) benchmark data through March 2025.

Beginning this month, in addition to the annual benchmark revision, the ADP National Employment Report also will reflect data from the most recent QCEW release.

For additional information about the ADP National Employment Report, including historical files, employment and pay data, methodology, and a calendar of release dates, please visit https://adpemploymentreport.com/.    

The February 2026 ADP National Employment Report will be released on March 4, 2026 at 8:15 a.m. ET.

About ADP Research

The mission of ADP Research is to make the future of work more productive through data-driven discovery. Companies, workers, and policy makers rely on our finely tuned data and unique perspective to make informed decisions that impact workplaces around the world.

To subscribe to monthly email alerts or obtain additional information about ADP Research, including employment and pay data, methodology, and a calendar of release dates, please visit https://www.adpresearch.com.    

About ADP (NASDAQ: ADP)

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