Private businesses in the United States reported a job reduction of 32,000 positions in September 2025, following a revised decrease of 3,000 in August. This trend defies earlier predictions of a 50,000 job increase. It represents the most significant employment decline since March 2023 and the first instance since the 2020 pandemic that the private sector has reported job cuts for two consecutive months.
Within the service-producing sector, there was a loss of 28,000 positions, primarily in leisure and hospitality (-19,000), professional and business services (-13,000), financial activities (-9,000), and trade, transportation, and utilities (-7,000). These losses overshadowed the employment gains in education and health services (33,000) and the information sector (3,000). The goods-producing sector experienced a decrease of 3,000 jobs, attributed to declines in construction (-5,000) and manufacturing (-2,000), while natural resources and mining saw an addition of 4,000 jobs.
Concurrently, wage growth for employees who remained in their jobs remained steady at 4.5%. However, salary increases for those who changed jobs slowed to 6.6%, down from 7.1%. Dr. Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, commented, "This month's data further confirms our observations of the labor market, indicating caution among U.S. employers regarding hiring."
