The ADP National Employment Report says that private payrolls in the US unexpectedly fell by 32,000 in November 2025. This was the biggest drop since March 2023 and much less than economists had expected, who had predicted a gain of 40,000. This comes after a revised gain of 47,000 jobs in October, which shows that hiring is uneven because people are being careful and the economy is uncertain. Small businesses lost the most jobs, with 120,000 going away. Medium and large businesses, on the other hand, added 51,000 and 39,000 jobs, respectively.
Job losses affected many industries. Professional and business services lost 26,000 jobs, information services lost 20,000, and manufacturing lost 18,000. Construction and finance lost 9,000 jobs each, but education and health services gained 33,000 and leisure and hospitality gained 13,000. ADP Chief Economist Nela Richardson said that small businesses are like “canaries in the coal mine” because tariffs are making things more expensive and prices have gone up by 25% over the past five years.
The yearly pay growth for people who stay in their jobs slowed to 4.4%, down 0.1 points from October. The report is even more important now that the federal government is shut down and the official BLS November jobs data won’t be available until December 16, when it will be combined with October data. Four of the last six months saw private employers lay off workers. This is a sign that the job market is getting weaker as 2025 comes to a close.
