ADP is a giant payroll-processing company, and it publishes a closely watched monthly estimate of private-sector job growth built from actual payroll records. Because ADP runs payroll for a huge number of employers, its report comes from real payroll data rather than a survey, and it lands a couple of days ahead of the government's official jobs number, giving an early read on hiring. The official number is the Bureau of Labor Statistics nonfarm payrolls report (often called NFP), released the first Friday of the month, and markets treat that one as definitive. It covers more ground, including government jobs ADP does not capture, and it layers statistical adjustments on top of the raw counts. So the two often disagree in any given month. Why this matters to a homebuyer: the strength of the job market is one of the main things the Federal Reserve watches, and surprises in these reports routinely move mortgage rates within hours of release. You do not need to trade on them. Knowing what ADP is simply helps you understand why rates can jump on a Wednesday or a Friday morning. If you want to watch the effect in real time, the Mortgage News Daily rate table, right here on our site at /mnd-rates, updates as the market moves.