US companies added 90,000 jobs in September, ADP data show

Fresh updates from the financial markets indicate that US firms stepped up hiring in September, another sign that the economy may be picking up.

Private-sector payrolls rose by 90,000, the most in three months, according to ADP Research data out Wednesday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 75,000 gain.

More than half of the gain was in education and health services. Leisure and hospitality, construction and manufacturing additionally revealed healthy job expansion.

The stable job market, alongside resilient consumer spending, has allowed the The US central bank to focus on fighting persistent inflation. The central bank boosted interest rates two weeks ago for the first time since 2023 and numerous policymakers have since described the labor market as solid and in balance.

“It’s a firm report,” Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP and a contributor to Bloomberg Television, stated in a statement. “After a three-month slowdown, job creation rebounded and pay expansion remained solid.”

The ADP report, published in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, revealed workers who changed jobs saw a 7.3% gain in their gross pay from a year earlier. Wage expansion for those who stayed put was 4.4%.

The government’s employment report due Friday, which includes public-sector hiring, is anticipated to show US employers further noted a solid 90,000 jobs in September.

ADP bases its findings on payrolls covering more than 26 million US private-sector employees.