Topline
The U.S. private sector shed more than 13,500 jobs per week on average in October and early November, according to data released Tuesday by the private payroll processing firm ADP, offering one of the few real-time reads on a weakening labor market.
DUIVEN, NETHERLANDS – MAY 11: A teacher takes a class in a classroom at a Elementary school on May 11, 2020 in Duiven,Netherlands. Schools open their doors today and children can go back to school after almost two months of compulsory closing. (Photo by Rene Nijhuis/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
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Key Facts
Private sector employers shed an average of 13,500 jobs per week in the four weeks ending Nov. 8, a sharp pickup from the 2,500 weekly losses reported in ADP’s previous update.
The latest reading marks a nearly 20% increase in job losses from ADP’s prior four-week period, when employers cut an average of 11,250 jobs per week through Oct. 25.
ADP’s weekly update has taken on outsized importance as key federal labor reports remain delayed by the shutdown, per CNBC.
Conditions appeared steadier in early October, when ADP reported private sector payrolls rose by 42,000 in October and wages were up 4.5% year over year, but data released a week later showed a weaker picture for the end of the month.
Crucial Quote
ADP’s chief economist, Nela Richardson, called it a “C plus, B minus labor market,” according to a CNBC segment cited by reporter Carlos Quintanilla on Bluesky.