ADP Jobs Report October 2026: Construction Adds 13,000 as Payrolls Rise 86,000

The ADP jobs report for October shows construction employers added 13,000 jobs last month, making construction the only goods-producing industry to grow, as total private payrolls rose by 86,000, according to the ADP National Employment Report released at 8:15 a.m. ET on Wednesday, November 4, 2026 (ADP via PR Newswire).

The report arrives two days before the federal government publishes its own October employment figures, and it gives contractors, owners and developers an early read on whether the construction labor market held its pace into the fall. This is a developing story: the official Bureau of Labor Statistics count for October is scheduled for Friday morning, and ADP figures and BLS figures often differ from month to month.

What Happened

ADP Research, which produces the report with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, said private employers added 86,000 jobs in October. The firm also revised its September estimate down from 90,000 to 86,000, so the two months now show the same gain (ADP via PR Newswire). The report is built from anonymized weekly payroll data covering more than 26 million private-sector employees, according to the release (ADP via PR Newswire).

Within the goods-producing side of the economy, which added a net 4,000 jobs, construction gained 13,000 positions while natural resources and mining lost 8,000 and manufacturing lost 1,000 (StockTitan). In other words, without construction, goods-producing employment would have declined in October.

Service-providing employers added 82,000 jobs. Trade, transportation and utilities led with 39,000, followed by education and health services with 28,000, leisure and hospitality with 19,000, financial activities with 15,000 and other services with 10,000. Professional and business services, a category that includes architecture and engineering firms, lost 27,000 jobs, and information lost 2,000 (StockTitan). The ADP release describes the professional and business services drop as the sector’s third straight monthly decline (ADP via PR Newswire).

ADP chief economist Dr. Nela Richardson said in the release that “employers of all sizes were hiring last month” and that earnings growth for job-changers “hit its fastest pace since March 2024” (ADP via PR Newswire).

What Is Confirmed

The following figures come directly from the ADP release and its reproduction on StockTitan:

• Total private employment: up 86,000 in October; September revised to 86,000 from 90,000 (ADP via PR Newswire).
• Construction: up 13,000 jobs (ADP via PR Newswire).
• Construction pay: median base pay up 4.0% year over year for construction workers, compared with 3.2% for all private-sector workers (StockTitan).
• Pay for all workers: median base pay up 3.0% for job-stayers and 4.8% for job-changers; gross pay up 4.4% for job-stayers and 7.6% for job-changers (StockTitan).
• Establishment size: small establishments added 28,000 jobs, medium establishments 33,000 and large establishments 24,000 (StockTitan).
• Regions (all industries): South up 47,000, West up 28,000, Midwest up 9,000 and Northeast up 3,000. Within those totals, the South Atlantic division, which includes Florida, added 15,000 jobs and the Mid-Atlantic division, which includes New York, added 6,000 (StockTitan).

ADP does not break out construction employment by region or state in the national release, so the report does not show how many of the 13,000 construction jobs were added in New York, Florida or any other state. Readers should treat the regional numbers above as figures for all private industries.

How It Fits With Recent Construction Data

October’s gain continues a run of steady, modest construction hiring. In the most recent federal count, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that construction added 11,000 jobs in September while total nonfarm payrolls rose 29,000 and the national unemployment rate stood at 4.2% (BLS). WCG covered that release in Construction Adds 11,000 Jobs in September 2026 as Data Center Trades Lead.

Other recent indicators point in different directions. Job openings data for September showed construction openings at 298,000 with quits near 200,000, a sign that contractors are still competing hard for workers, as covered in Construction Labor Shortage Signs. The construction unemployment rate fell to 3.5% in September, according to the data summarized in our report on state construction unemployment. At the same time, total construction spending fell 1.9% in September on a 5.5% drop in residential spending, as reported in Construction Spending Falls 1.9% in September.

Taken together, the ADP figure suggests contractors kept adding workers in October even as some measures of project spending softened. ADP and BLS use different methods, however. ADP measures private payrolls from its own client data, while the BLS establishment survey covers both private and government employers and is the official benchmark. A strong ADP reading does not guarantee a strong BLS reading on Friday.

What It Means for Owners and Contractors

For general contractors and subcontractors, the report reinforces what many firms are already seeing on the ground: skilled labor remains in demand, and wages are rising faster in construction than in the private economy overall. A 4.0% median base pay increase for construction workers, against 3.2% for all workers, means labor costs continue to climb in real terms for many trades (StockTitan).

That matters for bids and budgets. Owners and developers pricing projects for 2027 starts should expect labor escalation to remain a meaningful line item, particularly on fast-track work and in sectors such as data centers, manufacturing and health care where multiple large projects compete for the same electricians, pipefitters and finishers. Contractors carrying fixed-price backlog signed a year or more ago may face tighter margins if wage gains continue at this pace.

The faster pay growth for job-changers, 4.8% base and 7.6% gross across all industries, also highlights retention risk (StockTitan). Firms that lose experienced foremen and superintendents to competitors can see schedule and quality effects that outweigh the cost of a raise. For owners, it is a reason to ask bidders about crew stability and supervision on major packages.

The decline in professional and business services, which includes design and engineering firms, is worth watching for anyone planning new work. Fewer jobs in that category could reflect slower pre-construction activity, although the ADP release does not break out architecture or engineering employment specifically (ADP via PR Newswire).

What to Watch

• Friday, November 6, 2026, 8:30 a.m. ET: the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the October Employment Situation report, the official count of construction jobs, hours and earnings (BLS).
• Revisions: ADP revised September down by 4,000 jobs this month, and October’s figure may also change when the next report is published (ADP via PR Newswire).
• Wednesday, December 2, 2026, 8:15 a.m. ET: ADP publishes its November report (StockTitan).
• Spending and starts: whether construction hiring holds up if the September decline in construction spending carries into the fourth quarter.

Key Questions

How many construction jobs did the ADP jobs report show for October 2026?

The ADP National Employment Report released November 4, 2026 showed construction employers added 13,000 jobs in October, while total private employment rose by 86,000 (ADP via PR Newswire).

How fast is construction pay rising, according to ADP?

ADP reported that median base pay for construction workers rose 4.0% year over year in October 2026, compared with 3.2% for all private-sector workers (StockTitan).

When is the official October 2026 jobs report from BLS?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled to release the October 2026 Employment Situation report on Friday, November 6, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. ET. Its construction figure is not yet known and may differ from ADP’s (BLS).

Related Coverage

• Construction Adds 11,000 Jobs in September 2026 as Data Center Trades Lead
• Construction Labor Shortage Signs: Quits Near 200,000 as Openings Hit 298,000
• Construction Unemployment Rate Falls to 3.5% in September; All States Under 10%
• Construction Spending Falls 1.9% in September on 5.5% Residential Drop

Image credit: Joe Holland on Unsplash. Free-license photo used under the Unsplash License.

Sources

• ADP via PR Newswire, “ADP National Employment Report: Private-Sector Employment Increased by 86,000 Jobs in October,” https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/adp-national-employment-report-private-sector-employment-increased-by-86-000-jobs-in-october-302929216.html
• StockTitan, “ADP October employment report: 86,000 jobs added,” https://www.stocktitan.net/news/ADP/adp-national-employment-report-private-sector-employment-increased-5d0x58las33b.html
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “The Employment Situation, September 2026,” https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm