US private payrolls unexpectedly declined in November, the ADP employment report showed on Wednesday.
Private employment decreased by 32,000 jobs last month after an upwardly revised 47,000 increase in October. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast private employment rising by 10,000 jobs after a previously reported 42,000 rebound in October.
The ADP report is jointly developed with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab. The monthly estimate has historically diverged from the government’s private payrolls count produced by the labor department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The BLS will release the closely watched employment report for November on 16 December. The report, originally due on 5 December, was delayed by the recently ended shutdown of the federal government. It will include non-farm payrolls for October. The unemployment rate for October will never be known as the longest federal government shutdown in history prevented the collection of data for the household survey from which the jobless rate is calculated.
While the ADP has suggested a deterioration in labor market conditions, first-time applications for state unemployment benefits have been consistent with the “no hire, no fire” narrative. Economists say economic uncertainty stemming from tariffs has left the labor market in a state of paralysis.
The economy added 119,000 jobs in September, with the unemployment rate rising to a four-year high of 4.4%.
