A closely watched private payrolls report unexpectedly showed job losses in September, stoking fresh doubts about U.S. labor market resilience and reinforcing bets that the Federal Reserve could lower interest rates again soon.
The ADP National Employment Report recorded a net loss of 32,000 private-sector jobs in September 2025, the weakest monthly performance since March 2023. The result came in well below expectations for a 50,000 job gain and marked a sharp swing from August’s revised increase of 54,000.
The monthly data—derived from anonymized payroll records of over 26 million workers—carries added weight this month due to the ongoing government shutdown, which is expected to delay Friday’s official jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Despite the strong economic …