The February 2026 ADP National Employment Report, produced by ADP Research in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, reveals that private sector employment increased by 63,000 jobs. Pay for job-stayers rose 4.5 percent year-over-year, while the premium for switching employers reached a record low.
Quick Intel
Solid but Concentrated Job Gains in February Private sector hiring rebounded in February with 63,000 net new jobs, marking the best monthly performance since July 2025. Growth was led by construction (+19,000) and education and health services (+58,000), while professional and business services (-30,000) and manufacturing (-5,000) experienced declines. Goods-producing sectors added 16,000 jobs overall, and service-providing sectors contributed 47,000. Small establishments drove most gains, particularly those with 1-19 employees (+58,000), while medium-sized firms saw losses.
Regionally, the South led with 37,000 jobs added, followed by the West (+19,000) and Northeast (+11,000). The Midwest posted a net loss of 4,000. These patterns reflect uneven recovery and sector-specific demand across the U.S. labor market.
Pay Trends Favor Job-Stayers Amid Low Switching Premium Pay growth for employees who remained in their roles held firm at 4.5 percent year-over-year in February, unchanged from the prior month. In contrast, annualized pay growth for job-changers decelerated to 6.3 percent, resulting in the smallest premium for switching employers on record. This suggests limited wage upside from job mobility despite ongoing hiring activity.
Among job-stayers, pay increases varied by industry: manufacturing (4.9%), financial activities (5.2%), and construction (4.7%) showed relatively stronger gains, while information (4.0%) and other services (4.1%) lagged. By firm size, larger establishments (500+ employees) offered the highest median pay growth at 4.9%, compared to 2.6% at the smallest firms (1-19 employees).
Labor Market Insights from High-Frequency Data The ADP National Employment Report draws from anonymized weekly payroll data covering more than 26 million U.S. private-sector employees, supplemented by Pay Insights from over 15 million pay change observations monthly. This provides a timely, representative snapshot of private employment and wage dynamics. The January figure was revised downward from 22,000 to 11,000 jobs added.
These findings indicate resilient but selective hiring and steady pay growth for incumbent workers, even as job-switching incentives weaken. The data underscores the importance of sector-specific and regional factors in shaping current labor market conditions.
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