
ADP large miss But does it matter for NFP
Looking at the series over the passed few months, there is volatility between ADP and NFP data
Share this:
ADP reported their assessment of the private Employment Change for the month of August. The number of US jobs added to the economy was 374,000 vs and expectation of +613,000 and July’s downwardly revised print of +326,000. Not surprisingly, the service sector led the way with +329,000 new jobs.
Before everyone gets too nervous about the August Non-farm Payroll on Friday, lets look at how volatile the ADP estimates have been over the last few months vs estimates, and compare that to the Non-Farm Payroll prints:
Month ADP estimate (Initial) ADP Actual NFP Private Actual
May +650K +950K +492K
June +692K +600K +662K
July +695K +320K +703K
August +613K +374K ???
As you can see from the chart above, only in June was the Actual ADP print within 100K of the estimate. In May, July, and August, the prints were +/- 300K from the estimate!
Between actual ADP data and Actual NFP Private jobs, the average miss was even higher. In May, the difference between ADP and NFP Private jobs was -458K, in June it was +62K, and in July it was +383K. Therefore, at least in recent months, we can conclude that on a month to month basis, ADP Private Payrolls are not necessarily a good predictor of NFP Private Payrolls. Note as well that government jobs must be added to the NFP Private payrolls to get the total number of Non-Farm jobs added to (or taken away from) the economy for a particular month.
EUR/USD moved higher after the ADP print and the US Dollar Index moved lower, as bond yields moved lower. On a daily timeframe, EUR/USD is bumping up against horizontal resistance near 1.1850 and trying to close above a longer-term trendline near 1.1835. Resistance above those levels is 1.1890 and 1.1900, which is a series of highs from late July/early August (It is also the completion of the recent descending wedge breakout.)
Source: Tradingview, Stone X
On a shorter-term 240-minute chart, EUR/USD has been moving higher in an upward sloping channel since August 20th. There is additional resistance at the top channel trendline near 1.1865. Support is at the bottom trendline of the channel near 1.1805, ahead of horizontal support at 1.1727 and 1.1702. Also notice that the RSI is diverging from price in the near-term. Therefore, EUR/USD may be ready for a pullback.
Source: Tradingview, Stone X
The ADP Employment Change for August was much worse than expected. However, looking at the series over the passed few months, there is a large amount of volatility between ADP and NFP data. Therefore, traders shouldn’t rely on the ADP print alone to help determine an estimate of Non-Farm Payrolls.
Learn more about forex trading opportunities.
ADP reported their assessment of the private Employment Change for the month of August. The number of US jobs added to the economy was 374,000 vs and expectation of +613,000 and July’s downwardly revised print of +326,000. Not surprisingly, the service sector led the way with +329,000 new jobs.
Before everyone gets too nervous about the August Non-farm Payroll on Friday, lets look at how volatile the ADP estimates have been over the last few months vs estimates, and compare that to the Non-Farm Payroll prints:
Month ADP estimate (Initial) ADP Actual NFP Private Actual
May +650K +950K +492K
June +692K +600K +662K
July +695K +320K +703K
August +613K +374K ???
As you can see from the chart above, only in June was the Actual ADP print within 100K of the estimate. In May, July, and August, the prints were +/- 300K from the estimate!
Between actual ADP data and Actual NFP Private jobs, the average miss was even higher. In May, the difference between ADP and NFP Private jobs was -458K, in June it was +62K, and in July it was +383K. Therefore, at least in recent months, we can conclude that on a month to month basis, ADP Private Payrolls are not necessarily a good predictor of NFP Private Payrolls. Note as well that government jobs must be added to the NFP Private payrolls to get the total number of Non-Farm jobs added to (or taken away from) the economy for a particular month.
EUR/USD moved higher after the ADP print and the US Dollar Index moved lower, as bond yields moved lower. On a daily timeframe, EUR/USD is bumping up against horizontal resistance near 1.1850 and trying to close above a longer-term trendline near 1.1835. Resistance above those levels is 1.1890 and 1.1900, which is a series of highs from late July/early August (It is also the completion of the recent descending wedge breakout.)
Source: Tradingview, Stone X
On a shorter-term 240-minute chart, EUR/USD has been moving higher in an upward sloping channel since August 20th. There is additional resistance at the top channel trendline near 1.1865. Support is at the bottom trendline of the channel near 1.1805, ahead of horizontal support at 1.1727 and 1.1702. Also notice that the RSI is diverging from price in the near-term. Therefore, EUR/USD may be ready for a pullback.
Source: Tradingview, Stone X
The ADP Employment Change for August was much worse than expected. However, looking at the series over the passed few months, there is a large amount of volatility between ADP and NFP data. Therefore, traders shouldn’t rely on the ADP print alone to help determine an estimate of Non-Farm Payrolls.
Learn more about forex trading opportunities.
Related tags:
Latest market news
View more newsThe complete CFD trading experience
Award-winning platforms, competitive spreads, low commissions and dedicated support.
We live and breathe the markets and are dedicated to helping traders realise their ambitions as we continue to set the industry bar.
Economic calendar
Web Trader platform
Our sophisticated web-based platform is packed with features.

Gold Q4 2026 outlook: Resilience in the face of rallying dollar and yields
As we headed towards the latter stages of Q3 and into Q4, the Fed had just hiked rates in a hawkish FOMC meeting, while the likes of the ECB and BoJ had also tightened their respective policies. Oil prices remained elevated amid the prolonged US-Iran conflict. Meanwhile, bond yields were breaking out, and the dollar was higher across the board. Yet, remarkably, gold was still holding in the positive territory for the third quarter, even if it had weakened somewhat in September.

EUR/USD Q4 2026 Outlook: Euro at a Crossroads as Fed, ECB Tighten 9 25 2026
EUR/USD enters Q4 at a pivotal inflection point as competing Fed-ECB policy paths and persistent inflation risks collide with major technical support.

USD/JPY Q4 2026 Outlook: Hawkish Fed Pricing Clashes With Intervention Risk
The year-end tug-of-war is clear: hawkish Fed pricing supports USD/JPY, while intervention risk limits the upside.
StoneX Europe Ltd may make third party material available on this website which may contain information included but not limited to the conditions of financial markets. The material is for information purposes only and does not contain, and should not be construed as containing, investment advice and/or investment recommendation and/or an investment research and/or an offer of or solicitation for any transactions in financial instruments; any decision to enter into a specific transaction shall be made by the client following an assessment by him/her of their situation.
StoneX Europe Ltd makes no representation or warranty and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the information provided, nor any loss arising from any investment based on a recommendation, forecast or other information supplied. You should always seek independent advice as to your suitability to speculate in any related markets and your ability to assume the associated risks, if you are at all unsure. We are not under any obligation to update any such material. Any opinion made may be personal to the author and may not reflect the opinion of StoneX Europe Ltd.





