FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent listen as National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett speaks, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 5, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo
Because of the partial shutdown of the federal government, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) did not release an employment report for October 2025. And its November report has not been released yet.
But a new report from payroll processing firm ADP, according to CNBC reporter Jeff Cox, doesn't offer much reason for optimism.
In an article published on Wednesday, December 3 — the day ADP's report was released — Cox explains, "The U.S. labor market slowdown intensified in November as private companies cut 32,000 workers, with small businesses hit the hardest, payrolls processing firm ADP reported Wednesday. With worries intensifying over the domestic jobs picture, ADP indicated the issues were worse than anticipated. The payrolls decline marked a sharp step down from October, which saw an upwardly revised gain of 47,000 positions, and was well below the Dow Jones consensus estimate from economists for an increase of 40,000."
Cox stresses that according to ADP, large businesses fared better than small businesses in November.
"Larger businesses, entailing companies with 50 or more employees, actually reported a net gain of 90,000 workers," Cox says of ADP's data. "However, establishments with fewer than 50 workers saw a decline of 120,000, including a drop of 74,000 among firms with 20 to 49 employees. The total loss was the biggest drop since March 2023. Education and health services led gainers with 33,000 hires, while leisure and hospitality added 13,000. But a broad-based decline across industries drove the total lower."
Cox continues, "The biggest loss came in professional and business services, which saw a decline of 26,000. Others shedding jobs included information services (-20,000), manufacturing (-18,000), and financial activities and construction, both of which saw losses of 9000."
Journalist Aaron Rupar highlighted some takeaways from ADP's data in a December 3 post on X, formerly Twitter.
Rupar posted, "CNBC on latest jobs numbers: 'A big miss on the ADP payrolls. The private payroll company saying private payrolls shed 32,000 workers in November. That's the fourth negative number in the past six months. The estimate was for plus 40,000, so the street was off on this one ... small business getting hammered and there is some information that some of this may be coming from being hammered by the tariffs."
Read Jeff Cox's full article for CNBC at this link.