The U.S. private sector employment market is showing signs of consistent improvement, although the overall growth rate remains moderate.

According to the latest pulse data from the National Employment Report (NER) released by Automatic Data Processing Inc, for the four weeks ending February 7, 2026, private employers in the United States added an average of 12,750 jobs per week. This marks the fourth consecutive week of sequential improvement.

Although the consecutive upward trend provides some support to the market, the current average weekly job additions remain at a relatively low level. The figure is significantly lower compared to the peak levels seen in late November 2025, which ranged between 17,000 and 20,000 jobs per week.

Automatic Data Processing Inc noted that the data is a preliminary estimate and may be revised as new information is incorporated.

Job growth has been climbing steadily since its low point in early January: the four-week average was just 4,250 for the week ending January 10. It then gradually increased to 5,500 for the week ending January 17, 7,250 for the week ending January 24, 11,500 for the week ending January 31, and reached 12,750 for the most recent week ending February 7, marking four consecutive weeks of improvement.

However, compared to the peak levels in late November 2025, the current pace remains weak. The four-week averages for the weeks ending November 22 and November 29, 2025, were as high as 20,000 and 17,000 jobs, respectively. The current growth rate is less than two-thirds of those peaks, indicating that the labor market recovery has not yet fully closed the gap from the previous decline.

The NER pulse data uses a four-week moving average to measure weekly changes in private employment. The figures are seasonally adjusted and incorporate a two-week data lag to improve the accuracy of real-time trend estimates. The next release of the NER pulse data is scheduled for March 10, 2026.