Jobs in the financial sector grew in April, but a record wage gap challenges the industry's recovery.
There may be a light at the end of the tunnel for job security in commercial banking – or it could be the light of the coming train.
After more than 12 months of continuous job losses, commercial banks may turn around. The ADP National Employment Report for April 2026 noted that the financial sector grew by 9,000 positions, 5,000 more than the previous month.
This sector added the fourth most jobs, after education and health (61,000); trade, transportation, and utilities (25,000); and construction (10,000). Only professional and business services declined, with 8,000 jobs lost in April.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is more robust and bearish compared to ADP's findings. The BLS calculated that the economy added 115,000 nonfarm jobs in April, while ADP saw private sector employment rise by 109,000 jobs, based on anonymous weekly payroll data for more than 26 million private sector workers.
On the other hand, the BLS noted that employment in financial services “showed little change during the month.”
AI warning
The small increase observed by ADP may be a reversal of monthly job losses in commercial banks from February 2025, according to a study by KBRA Financial Intelligence (KFI). But there is a catch.
“The recent decline was much smaller than that recorded in 2023 and 2024, suggesting that consolidation of commercial banking staff may slow, but the continued implementation of AI in the industry may continue to slow down some banks,” according to the KFI Insight report.
Growth Spurt
So, where is the biggest job growth? For small and very large organizations.
Small/small businesses (1-19 employees) and large businesses (over 500 employees) led the job growth, with 43,000 and 42,000 positions, respectively. Only companies at the top of the list of medium-sized businesses (250-499 employees) cut back, shedding 3,000 jobs in April.
“Small and large employers are hiring, but we see a softening in the middle,” said Dr. Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP. “Large companies have the resources to use them, while small ones are the most flexible, both important advantages in a complex workforce environment.”
Salary concerns
It's not all good news. According to the Bank of America Institute, which bases its numbers on aggregated and anonymous bank transaction data, unemployment claims continued to slow, but the large K-shape in wage growth continued in April.
“In April, top-earning households saw their after-tax earnings rise to 6.0% year-over-year (YoY) — the highest rate we've seen since August 2021,” wrote the authors of the April 2026 Employment Report from the Center.
“In fact, even within this group, there is a divergence, with after-tax earnings growth in the top 5% of households with incomes stronger than that of the highest income group,” the authors note.
“Middle- and lower-income households also saw their after-tax earnings rise in April, up 2.3% YoY and 1.5% YoY, respectively,” the researchers found. “But the gap between these groups and the highest-income households remains the widest since our data series began in 2015.”
