ADP National Employment Report: Private Sector Employment Shed 32,000 Jobs in September; Annual Pay was Up 4.5%

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ADP (NYSE:ADP) released its September 2025 National Employment Report, revealing that private sector employment declined by 32,000 jobs, while annual pay increased by 4.5% for job-stayers. The report, based on payroll data from over 26 million U.S. private-sector employees, showed job-changers' pay growth slowed to 6.6% from 7.1% in August.

Key sector changes included a loss of 28,000 jobs in service-providing industries and 3,000 jobs in goods-producing sectors. Education/health services added 33,000 jobs, while leisure/hospitality shed 19,000 positions. By establishment size, large firms (500+ employees) added 33,000 jobs, while small and medium establishments lost 40,000 and 20,000 jobs respectively.

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10/01/2025 - 08:15 AM

ROSELAND, N.J., Oct. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Private sector employment shed 32,000 jobs in September and pay was up 4.5 percent year-over-year according to the September 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 nearly 14.8 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.

"Despite the strong economic growth we saw in the second quarter, this month's release further validates what we've been seeing in the labor market, that U.S. employers have been cautious with hiring," said Dr. Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP.

September 2025 Report Highlights

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

JOBS REPORT

Private employers shed 32,000 jobs in September
ADP conducted its annual preliminary rebenchmarking of the National Employment Report in September based on the full-year 2024 results of the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. This recalibration resulted in a reduction of 43,000 jobs in September compared to pre-benchmarked data. The trend was unchanged; job creation continued to lose momentum across most sectors.

Change in U.S. Private Employment : -32,000

Change by Industry

- Goods-producing: -3,000

Natural resources/mining 4,000
Construction -5,000
Manufacturing -2,000

- Service-providing: -28,000

Trade/transportation/utilities -7,000
Information 3,000
Financial activities -9,000
Professional/business services -13,000
Education/health services 33,000
Leisure/hospitality -19,000
Other services -16,000

Change by U.S. Regions

- Northeast: 21,000

New England 2,000
Mid-Atlantic 19,000

- Midwest: -63,000

East North Central -67,000
West North Central 4,000

- South: 3,000

South Atlantic 5,000
East South Central -18,000
West South Central 16,000

- West: 15,000

Mountain -6,000
Pacific 21,000

Change by Establishment Size

- Small establishments: -40,000

1-19 employees -19,000
20-49 employees -21,000

- Medium establishments: -20,000

50-249 employees -11,000
250-499 employees -9,000

- Large establishments: 33,000

500+ employees 33,000

PAY INSIGHTS

September pay gains were steady for job-stayers
Year-over-year pay growth for job-stayers was little changed in September at 4.5 percent. Pay gains for job-changers slowed to 6.6 percent from 7.1 percent in August, led by leisure and hospitality and financial activities.

Median Change in Annual Pay

- Job-stayers 4.5%

- Job-changers 6.6%

Median Change in Annual Pay for Job-Stayers by Industry

- Goods-producing:

Natural resources/mining 4.3%
Construction 4.5%
Manufacturing 4.7%

- Service-providing:

Trade/transportation/utilities 4.3%
Information 4.3%
Financial activities 5.2%
Professional/business services 4.2%
Education/health services 4.4%
Leisure/hospitality 4.5%
Other services 4.1%

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

- Small firms:

1-19 employees 2.7%
20-49 employees 4.0%

- Medium firms:

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

- Large firms:

500+ employees 4.8%

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

Statement on September Preliminary Benchmark
In September, ADP conducted a preliminary rebenchmarking of the National Employment Report based on full-year 2024 results from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

This recalibration resulted in a reduction of 43,000 jobs in the September 2025 ADP National Employment Report. The number of jobs created in August 2025 was revised from 54,000 to -3,000.

ADP's full-year benchmarking will take place in February 2026 with the publication of the January 2026 National Employment Report.

Note: The most recent release of the QCEW contained a higher-than-normal number of missing or redacted values for establishment size by NAICS sector and geography subgroups. This required the benchmark to be calculated at a coarser granularity than in previous years.

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 October 2025 ADP National Employment Report will be released on November 5, 2025 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)
ADP has been shaping the world of work with innovation and expertise for more than 75 years. As a global leader in HR and payroll solutions, ADP continuously works to solve business challenges for our clients and their workers, from simple, easy-to-use tools for small businesses to fully integrated platforms for global enterprises – and everything in between. Always Designing for People means we're focused on just that – people. We use our unmatched AI-driven insights and proven expertise to design innovative solutions that help people achieve greater success at work. More than 1.1 million clients across 140+ countries rely on ADP's exceptional service to support their people and drive their business forward. HR, Talent, Time Management, Benefits, Compliance, and Payroll. Learn more at ADP.com

ADP, the ADP logo, and Always Designing for People, ADP National Employment Report, and ADP Research are registered trademarks of ADP, Inc. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

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