Private sector job growth was more than originally anticipated in September, according to the ADP National Employment Report.
The report showed that 90,000 jobs in private companies were added, as “base pay” went up by 3.2 percent and gross pay increased by 4.7 percent since this time last year.
"It's a strong report," Dr. Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP, said in a statement. "After a three-month slowdown, job creation rebounded and pay growth remained solid."
According to the report, the Northeastern United States accounted for 56,000 of those jobs, 5,000 in the Midwest, 11,000 in the South and 17,000 in the Western United States. Dow Jones had projected it would be just under 70,000 jobs added, according to CNBC.
In the month prior, there were 162,000 jobs added overall, and 38,000 of those were in the private sector, according to ADP at the time. Many of the jobs added in August were in “food services and drinking places” or in “local government education,” coinciding with the start of the school year.
The report comes as both parties are trying to make their case to economically-minded voters ahead of November, as the Trump administration is also wanting to highlight strides made throughout the president’s second term.
"The private sector is driving America’s economic resurgence,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an X post last week.
“Since January 2025, more than one million private-sector jobs have been created while the federal workforce has been reduced to its lowest levels since the 1960s,” Bessent continued.
“At the same time, more than 1.3 million additional native-born Americans are working. These are the hallmarks of an economy powered by investment, opportunity, and the American worker,” he added.
The private sector is driving America’s economic resurgence.
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) September 23, 2026
Since January 2025, more than one million private-sector jobs have been created while the federal workforce has been reduced to its lowest levels since the 1960s.
At the same time, more than 1.3 million additional…
In addition, a metric used by the Federal Reserve for examining inflation, the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, came in at a stable 3.4 percent for August, which was the same for July and slightly lower than May and June. The core percentage was at 3 percent, which was lower than anticipated, Fox Business reported. The president has continually advocated for the Federal Reserve to lower the interest rates, despite a hike earlier this month.
More broadly, the president has wanted economic victories to be part of the closing argument for voters.
"There are, by a lot, more Americans working today than at any time in the history of our country," Trump said at the Hispanic Heritage Month event on Wednesday, joking that "we are doing an extremely poor job of promotion, and extremely great job of running the country."
On the campaign trail, congressional Democrats have argued that there has not been enough done to combat the cost-of-living, including gas prices, whereas congressional Republicans have cited votes for the 2017 tax cuts and businesses deciding on-shore as significant wins.
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