The ADP report for July 2026 showed that U.S. private employers added 44,000 jobs, less than half the revised June gain of 95,000. Annual pay growth held at 4.4% for job-stayers and accelerated to 7% for job-changers, highlighting a labor market where hiring cooled but wage gains remained resilient.
Key Takeaways
- Private employers added 44,000 jobs in July, down from a revised 95,000 in June.
- Service-providing industries added 47,000 positions, while goods-producing industries lost 3,000.
- Education and health services led all industries with 36,000 added jobs.
- Pay growth held at 4.4% for job-stayers and rose to 7% for job-changers.
- Small establishments added 23,000 jobs, led by businesses with fewer than 20 employees.
The July ADP report placed the month’s private-sector employment gain well below June’s revised total. ADP originally estimated that employers added 98,000 jobs in June before lowering the figure to 95,000.
The slowdown did not appear evenly across the economy. Service-providing employers added 47,000 jobs, while goods-producing businesses lost 3,000 as declines in natural resources and mining outweighed modest gains in construction and manufacturing.
The results add another data point to the broader cooling U.S. job growth seen during 2026. The ADP figures measure private payroll activity rather than total nonfarm employment, so they offer a separate view of labor conditions rather than a direct forecast of federal employment data.
ADP Research produced the report with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab. The measure uses anonymized weekly payroll data covering more than 26 million U.S. private-sector employees, while its pay analysis includes more than 15 million individual pay-change observations each month.
Health and Education Carried July Job Growth
Education and health services added 36,000 jobs, accounting for most of July’s net increase. Financial activities added 10,000 positions, while professional and business services gained 9,000.
Information employers added 5,000 jobs, and other services added 6,000. Those gains were partly offset by an 11,000-job decline in leisure and hospitality and an 8,000 decrease in trade, transportation, and utilities.
Regional results also showed a divided hiring picture. The Northeast added 37,000 jobs, the South added 9,000, and the West gained 7,000. The Midwest lost 9,000 positions.
Small establishments added 23,000 jobs, but the increase came from businesses with one to 19 employees, which gained 27,000 positions. Establishments with 20 to 49 workers lost 4,000. Medium-sized employers added 8,000 jobs, while businesses with at least 500 employees added 13,000.
The figures show that July’s gains were spread across employer sizes but concentrated in a limited number of industries and regions. Education and health services alone supplied most of the month’s net job growth.
Pay Growth Held Firm as Job Switching Accelerated
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Median annual pay growth for workers who remained with their employers held at 4.4% in July. Job-changers recorded 7% growth, up from 6.6% in June and the strongest year-over-year increase since August 2025.
“Job-changers are highly sensitive to real-time economic conditions, and their rapid pay growth implies supply constraints in parts of the labor market,” ADP Chief Economist Nela Richardson said.
The gap does not mean every worker received those increases. The figures represent median changes across the payroll records included in ADP’s matched-person sample.
Pay growth varied by industry. Financial activities recorded the highest increase for job-stayers at 5.2%, followed by manufacturing at 5%. Construction posted 4.5%, while trade, transportation, and utilities and leisure and hospitality each recorded 4.4%.
Larger employers generally reported stronger pay growth than the smallest businesses. Job-stayers at companies with 500 or more employees and at establishments with 250 to 499 workers recorded 4.8% growth. The rate fell to 2.4% at businesses with fewer than 20 workers.
The figures may also inform assessments of labor market performance data, since hiring and wage trends can move in different directions. July showed slower employment creation alongside steady pay gains for existing workers and faster gains for those changing jobs.
ADP is scheduled to release its August 2026 employment report on September 2 at 8:15 a.m. Eastern Time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Did the July 2026 ADP Report Show?
The ADP report showed that U.S. private employers added 44,000 jobs in July. That was below the revised June increase of 95,000 jobs.
Which Industry Added the Most Jobs in July?
Education and health services added 36,000 jobs, the largest increase among the listed industries. Financial activities ranked second with 10,000 added positions.
How Much Did Pay Increase for Job-Stayers?
Median annual pay growth for job-stayers was 4.4% in July. The rate was unchanged from June.
How Did Pay Growth Differ for Job-Changers?
Workers who changed employers recorded median annual pay growth of 7%. That was up from 6.6% in June.
Is the ADP Report the Same as the Federal Jobs Report?
No. The ADP report measures private-sector payroll changes using ADP payroll data, while federal reports use separate surveys and methods.
