ADP National Employment Report: Private Sector Employment Increased by 63,000 Jobs in February; Annual Pay was Up 4.5%

ROSELAND, N.J., March 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Private sector employment increased by 63,000 jobs in February and pay was up 4.5 percent year-over-year according to the February 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.

"We've seen an increase in hiring and pay gains remain solid, especially for job-stayers," said Dr. Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP. "But with hiring concentrated in only a few sectors, our data shows no widespread pay benefit from changing jobs. In fact, the pay premium for switching employers hit a record low in February."

February 2026 Report Highlights

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

JOBS REPORT

Private employers added 63,000 jobs in February

Hiring jumped in February, delivering the best showing for job gains since July 2025. Construction and education and health services led the growth.

Change in U.S. Private Employment:     63,000

Change by Industry

- Goods-producing:     16,000

• Natural resources/mining     2,000
• Construction     19,000
• Manufacturing     -5,000

- Service-providing:     47,000

• Trade/transportation/utilities     -1,000
• Information     11,000
• Financial activities     2,000
• Professional/business services     -30,000
• Education/health services     58,000
• Leisure/hospitality     1,000
• Other services     6,000

Change by U.S. Regions

- Northeast:     11,000

• New England     9,000
• Mid-Atlantic     2,000

- Midwest:     -4,000

• East North Central     -8,000
• West North Central     4,000

- South:     37,000

• South Atlantic     5,000
• East South Central     6,000
• West South Central     26,000

- West:     19,000

• Mountain     3,000
• Pacific     16,000

Change by Establishment Size

- Small establishments:     60,000

• 1-19 employees     58,000
• 20-49 employees     2,000

- Medium establishments:     -7,000

• 50-249 employees     -3,000
• 250-499 employees     -4,000

- Large establishments:     10,000

• 500+ employees     10,000

PAY INSIGHTS

Pay for job-stayers rose 4.5 percent in February

Pay growth for job-stayers was unchanged in February at 4.5 percent year-over-year. For job-changers, annualized pay growth slowed to 6.3 percent.

Median Change in Annual Pay

- Job-stayers     4.5%

- Job-changers     6.3%

Median Change in Annual Pay for Job-Stayers by Industry

- Goods-producing:                                                    

• Natural resources/mining     4.5%
• Construction     4.7%
• Manufacturing     4.9%

- Service-providing:                                               

• Trade/transportation/utilities     4.4%
• Information     4.0%
• Financial activities     5.2%
• Professional/business services     4.3%
• Education/health services     4.3%
• Leisure/hospitality     4.6%
• Other services     4.1%

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

- Small firms:                                                                

• 1-19 employees     2.6%
• 20-49 employees     4.1%

- Medium firms:                                                             

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

- Large firms:                                                                

• 500+ employees     4.9%

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

The January total number of jobs added was revised from 22,000 to 11,000.

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 March 2026 ADP National Employment Report will be released on April 1, 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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