A recruitment sign is posted in the window of a business in Manhattan, New York City, November 27, 2025.
Spencer Pratt | Getty Images
The slowdown in the U.S. labor market intensified in November, with small businesses hardest hit as private companies cut 32,000 jobs, payroll firm ADP reported Wednesday.
As concerns grow over the country’s employment situation, ADP suggested the problem is worse than expected. The decline in payrolls was a sharp decline from October’s upwardly revised 47,000 job gains, and was well below the Dow Jones consensus forecast of 40,000 job gains.
Larger companies, including those with 50 or more employees, actually reported a net increase of 90,000 employees.
However, companies with fewer than 50 employees saw a decline of 120,000 people, including a 74,000 loss in companies with 20 to 49 employees. The decline in the total amount was the largest since March 2023.
Education and health services led the increase with 33,000 hires, while leisure and hospitality added 13,000 jobs. However, widespread declines across industries held down the overall figure.
The biggest losses were in professional and business services, which fell by 26,000 jobs. Other companies that shed jobs included information services (-20,000 jobs), manufacturing (-18,000 jobs), and financial activities and construction, all with losses of 9,000 jobs.
Wage growth has also slowed, with the number of workers remaining in the workplace increasing by 4.4% year-on-year, down 0.1 percentage point from October.
“Employment has been volatile lately as employers navigate cautious consumers and an uncertain future.”
“November’s economic slowdown was broad-based, but it was led by small business rebound,” said Nella Richardson, chief economist at ADP.
The ADP report will be the last employment picture the Fed will receive before its Dec. 9-10 meeting. Despite concerns from some officials about whether further easing is needed, futures traders are giving an almost 90% chance that the central bank will approve another 0.5 percentage point cut in its key interest rate. The odds were about the same after ADP release.
In recent weeks, Fed policymakers have expressed disagreement. One side believes the cuts are necessary to avoid further labor market problems, while the other worries further cuts could worsen inflation, which is well above the Fed’s 2% target.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled to release an update on the state of non-farm payrolls on December 16th, but the release date has been delayed due to the government shutdown.
