Private Hiring Slid To 26-Month Low As Trump Again Pushes For Rate Cuts

Topline

Employment in the U.S.’ private sector grew in May at the weakest monthly pace since March 2023, according to a report released Wednesday morning by private payroll processor firm ADP, becoming the latest ammunition for President Donald Trump in his campaign for the Federal Reserve to slash interest rates.

Key Facts

The 37,000 private sector jobs added last month came far short of consensus economist forecasts of 110,000 new positions, according to Dow Jones data.

Small business employment shrank by 13,000 and manufacturing employment shrank by 3,000, according to ADP.

In a post to social media, Trump took the weak report as an opportunity to again insist the Fed “must now LOWER THE RATE,” referring to the notion that the central bank should cut rates to stimulate the economy and labor market.

What To Watch For

The Labor Department’s May nonfarm payrolls report, the primary yardstick of the U.S. employment picture, will come out Friday at 8:30 a.m. EDT.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/06/04/trump-demands-rate-cuts-again-after-private-hiring-slows-to-lowest-level-in-more-than-2-years/