Washington — Private employers across the United States cut 32,000 jobs in November 2025, according to the latest report from payroll processor ADP. 

The drop came as a surprise: economists surveyed by Reuters and Bloomberg had forecast a modest gain.

Most of the job losses came from small businesses — firms with fewer than fifty employees reportedly shed around 120,000 positions.

By contrast, medium and large companies saw modest gains, but not enough to offset the overall decline.

Sector-level data revealed that construction, manufacturing, information and professional/business services bore the brunt of the reductions.

Manufacturing lost roughly 18,000 jobs, construction shed 9,000, while information and business services dropped 20,000 and 26,000 jobs respectively.

:contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5} Meanwhile, sectors such as education, health and leisure/hospitality posted gains — adding 33,000 and 13,000 jobs respectively.

Wage growth moderated slightly; pay for job-stayers increased at an annualised 4.4 per cent rate, down from 4.5 per cent in October.

The timing of the report is significant.

The federal government shutdown interrupted regular labour-market data collection, delaying the official employment report from Bureau of Labor Statistics until mid-December.

As a result, the ADP release has become a focal point for markets and policymakers alike — especially as the Federal Reserve prepares to meet on December ninth and tenth to decide on interest-rate policy.

ADP’s chief economist, Nela Richardson, described the results as a warning sign from small firms — “a canary in the coal mine” that reflects heightened labour-market fragility.

Some analysts caution that the ADP data do not always align with official government estimates, calling for care in interpreting this as a definitive trend.

Nevertheless, with leading market indicators flagging a slowdown, the report adds weight to expectations that the Federal Reserve may opt for another rate cut — prioritising support for employment over inflation concerns.

As the US heads into year-end, the weak showing underscores how small businesses and sectors dependent on consumer demand may be early casualties of economic uncertainty.

Whether this marks a temporary lull or the onset of a broader labour-market cooling remains to be seen — but for now, the signal is clear: hiring has stalled, and caution is rising.