The private sector added 38,000 jobs last month, missing expectations, ADP says

The private sector added 38,000 jobs last month, missing expectations, ADP says

Claire Boston · Senior Reporter

Wed, September 2, 2026 at 4:01 PM GMT+3 1 min read

• ADP -0.93%

Hiring by private-sector employers fell short of expectations last month, according to payroll processor ADP.

Private employers added 38,000 jobs in August. Economists polled by Bloomberg had been expecting a gain of 47,000 jobs. July's job gains were revised up slightly to 46,000.

The education and healthcare sectors were responsible for the bulk of new jobs, while manufacturing and business and professional services both saw job losses.

Job switchers saw their base wages increase by 4.7% year-over-year, while wages for those who stayed put rose by 3%.

There is "still some opportunity to boost wages by changing jobs, even in this low fire, low hire job market." ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said.

On Friday, the Labor Department will release its own August jobs data gathered from surveys of public and private sector employers. ADP's data is based on payroll data from millions of private-sector employers. Economists expect the government data to show that the US added 55,000 jobs.

Claire Boston is a Senior Reporter for Yahoo Finance covering housing, mortgages, and home insurance.