Private Employers Added 90,000 Jobs in September, Beating Forecasts, ADP Says: What It Means if You're Job Hunting

Hiring picked up after a slow summer, but the gains were uneven. Here is where the jobs were and were not.

U.S. private employers added 90,000 jobs in September, according to the monthly National Employment Report from ADP, a large payroll company. The report came out Wednesday, September 30.

That was better than economists expected. Forecasters surveyed by Dow Jones had expected about 68,000 new private-sector jobs.

"After a three-month slowdown, job creation rebounded and pay growth remained solid," said Nela Richardson, ADP's chief economist.

What the ADP report measures

ADP processes paychecks for millions of workers. Each month it uses that payroll data to estimate how many jobs private businesses added or cut. It does not count government jobs.

The ADP report often comes out two days before the government's official jobs report. The Labor Department's September jobs report is scheduled for Friday, October 2. The two reports use different methods, so their numbers often don't match.

Where the jobs were

Hiring was strongest in a few areas:

• Education and health services: +55,000
• Leisure and hospitality (restaurants, hotels and entertainment): +22,000

But some industries cut jobs:

• Financial activities (such as banking and insurance): -16,000
• Professional and business services (such as accounting, consulting and office support): -11,000

Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees added 23,000 jobs, according to ADP.

What about pay?

ADP said pay growth "remained solid." ADP's data has shown that workers who switch jobs tend to get bigger raises than those who stay put. In September, people who changed jobs saw larger annual pay gains than people who stayed in the same job, according to UPI's report on the data.

Higher pay matters, but so does what it buys. With inflation still running above the Federal Reserve's 2% goal, a raise may not stretch as far as it looks on paper.

What this means for your wallet

One month of data does not tell the whole story, but it can help you plan. Here are a few ideas if you are working or looking for work:

• Look where hiring is strong. Health care, education and hospitality added the most jobs in September. If you have skills that fit those fields, they may be worth exploring.
• Be ready if you work in a slower field. Finance and professional services lost jobs. If you work in those areas, building up your emergency savings and keeping your resume current may give you more options.
• Know your market value. Because job-switchers often see bigger raises, it may be worth checking what similar jobs pay before your next review.
• Watch Friday's report. The government's jobs report on October 2 will add more detail, including the unemployment rate.
• Plan for gaps. If you are job hunting, a bare-bones budget can help your savings last longer while you search.