November private payrolls unexpectedly fell by 32,000, led by steep small business job cuts, ADP rep

[mystery-ak]

November private payrolls unexpectedly fell by 32,000, led by steep small business job cuts, ADP reports
Published Wed, Dec 3 20258:15 AM ESTUpdated 25 Min Ago

Jeff Cox

    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.

    Larger businesses, entailing companies with 50 or more employees, actually reported a net gain of 90,000 workers. However, establishments with fewer than 50 saw a decline of 120,000.

    The ADP report is the last monthly jobs picture the Federal Reserve gets before it meets Dec. 9-10.

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.

Larger businesses, entailing companies with 50 or more employees, actually reported a net gain of 90,000 workers.

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.

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 9,000.

The rate of pay also slowed, with workers staying in their jobs seeing a 4.4% year-over-year increase, down 0.1 percentage point from October.

more
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/03/adp-jobs-report-november-2025-private-payrolls-unexpectedly-fell-by-32000-.html

[Timber Rattler]

Trump's tariffs, coupled with the AI takeovers, are biting now.  And nobody's talking about them anymore.

[cato potatoe]

The BLS is scheduled to release monthly employment data on December 16th.  It is anyone's guess as to whether that will actually happen. 

[DB]

Sounds like the Obama years... Unexpectedly this and that...

[catfish1957]

I am not too concerned with these numbers, when you look at the historical PP numbers in the tail end of a Bull Market.  That and the quandary of trying to figure out how tariffs are working into their strategic plans. 

Gravity happens, and let's hope for a "V" . 

[libertybele]

Trump's tariffs, coupled with the AI takeovers, are biting now.  And nobody's talking about them anymore.

AI takeovers are just beginning and regardless of the money coming into this country from tariffs, it's not going to put food on the table of the people who lost their jobs.

[DB]

AI takeovers are just beginning and regardless of the money coming into this country from tariffs, it's not going to put food on the table of the people who lost their jobs.

All the tariff money is paid entirely by the US consumer. None of it comes from outside the country. It is just an additional tax we all pay to the almighty government.