Job-Changers Got 7.6% More, Stayers 4.4%: ADP October 2026 Data Shows Bonuses Are Doing the Poaching
ADP's National Employment Report for October 2026, released on November 4, counted 86,000 new private-sector jobs. The more useful number for HR sits further down the release: people who changed employers saw their gross pay rise 7.6% over a year, while people who stayed got 4.4%. ADP's chief economist says the switchers were won over by bonuses, overtime and extra hours as much as by base salary. A day after the BLS showed quits rising, that is the price tag on a resignation.
What ADP reported
The ADP National Employment Report is built from anonymized payroll data covering more than 26 million U.S. private-sector employees. Its Pay Insights section follows individual workers over twelve months, which lets ADP split pay growth between people who kept the same job and people who moved. The October 2026 edition was published at 8:15 a.m. ET on November 4.
Headline hiring was steady: 86,000 private jobs, the same as September after ADP revised that month down from 90,000. CNBC reported that economists polled by Dow Jones had expected 75,000. Trade, transportation and utilities added 39,000 jobs and education and health services 28,000, while professional and business services lost 27,000.
Pay is where the month moved. Every figure for job-stayers was the same as in September, and so was job-changers' base pay. Only one number rose: gross pay for people who switched employers, from 7.3% to 7.6%.
| Group | Base pay, Sept | Base pay, Oct | Gross pay, Sept | Gross pay, Oct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All workers | 3.2% | 3.2% | 4.7% | 4.7% |
| Job-stayers | 3.0% | 3.0% | 4.4% | 4.4% |
| Job-changers | 4.8% | 4.8% | 7.3% | 7.6% |
| Gap, changers minus stayers (our arithmetic) | 1.8 pts | 1.8 pts | 2.9 pts | 3.2 pts |
Why the gross line is the one to watch
Base pay is the salary or hourly rate. Gross pay is what actually lands on the payslip, so it also picks up bonuses, overtime and extra hours. ADP's release does not break gross pay into those parts, but its chief economist named them as the reason switchers came out ahead:
“Taken together, earnings growth for these workers hit its fastest pace since March 2024.”
— Dr. Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP, on job-changers lured by “bonuses, overtime, and more hours in addition to higher base pay” (November 4, 2026)
One way to see it (our arithmetic, and only a rough proxy because hours are mixed in): the distance between gross and base growth is 1.4 points for stayers (4.4 − 3.0) and 2.8 points for changers (7.6 − 4.8). The pay that sits outside base salary is growing about twice as fast for people who leave. On base pay alone the switching premium is 1.8 points and has not moved; the extra 1.4 points of gap on gross pay is the part employers compete for with sign-on bonuses, guaranteed hours and incentives.
It arrives at an awkward moment. The BLS JOLTS report for September, released on November 3, showed quits rising by 321,000 to 3.4 million, which we covered in our quits report. More people leaving, and the ones who leave getting a bigger raise, is the combination that makes retention budgets matter.
What the data does not say
These are medians across millions of workers, not a quote for any one role. ADP does not publish how much of gross pay is bonus versus overtime, and gross growth for hourly staff can rise simply because people worked more. ADP is also a private payroll processor, not the official count: the BLS Employment Situation report for October is due on Friday, November 6, and CNBC reported a Dow Jones consensus of 59,000 nonfarm jobs. Treat ADP as an early read on pay, not a replacement for your own exit and offer data.
What it means for your rewards and retention budget
- Compare the right number. If your annual review gives roughly a 3% raise, you are close to the stayer median on base pay, but a competing offer is being priced on gross. Check what your people receive outside salary in a year: spot awards, holiday gifts, service awards. Our CFO framework for a 2027 rewards budget shows how to put that line next to payroll.
- Price the leaver before the counter-offer. A $1,920 gap is small against the cost of replacing someone. The employee turnover cost calculator gives a per-leaver figure, and the ROI calculator sets it against a recognition program.
- Make the non-salary part visible. Bonuses only retain people who notice them. Regular, chosen rewards, such as a gift card picked from a catalog of brands, are easier to see than a percentage in a year-end letter. The evidence is in how gift card recognition affects turnover.
- Remember the tax. In the U.S. a gift card is cash-equivalent and taxable wages, the same as a cash bonus. Budget the gross-up with the gift card tax gross-up calculator.
For the longer view on who leaves and why, see the employee turnover statistics for 2026, and for the year-end part of the pay picture, the holiday and year-end bonus statistics.
Sources
- ADP, “ADP National Employment Report: Private-Sector Employment Increased by 86,000 Jobs in October” (November 4, 2026, 8:15 a.m. ET), the primary source. Jobs by sector and size, the September revision, Pay Insights for October, the sample size, the next release date (December 2, 2026) and Dr. Nela Richardson's quoted words. mediacenter.adp.com, also on prnewswire.com
- ADP, “ADP National Employment Report: Private-Sector Employment Increased by 90,000 Jobs in September” (September 30, 2026). The September Pay Insights figures used for comparison. finviz.com (release text)
- CNBC, “Private companies added 86,000 jobs in October, slightly higher than expected, ADP says” (November 4, 2026). The Dow Jones estimates for ADP (75,000) and for the BLS October report (59,000), and the November 6 BLS release date. cnbc.com
This article summarizes published payroll statistics for general information. It is not legal, tax or compensation advice. Pay and reward decisions depend on each employer's workforce, market and jurisdiction.
About the author
Maciej has worked in the digital gift card and rewards industry for over 5 years. For this story he read ADP's October 2026 National Employment Report and compared its Pay Insights with the September release, checked the consensus estimates in CNBC's coverage, and worked out the stayer-versus-changer gaps and the $60,000 example.