Private employers unexpectedly cut 33,000 jobs in June, the latest signal of an intensifying slowdown in the US labor market.
On Wednesday, data from ADP showed private payrolls fell by 33,000 last month in June, below the 29,000 job gains seen in May and the 98,000 additions expected by economists.
This marked the first month of job losses in the private sector since March 2023. May’s initial reading of 37,000 private payroll additions had been the lowest monthly total since March 2023.
“Though layoffs continue to be rare, a hesitancy to hire and a reluctance to replace departing workers led to job losses last month,” ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said in the release. “Still, the slowdown in hiring has yet to disrupt pay growth.”
Richardson told Yahoo Finance during a call with reporters on Wednesday it is now clear that hiring momentum has slowed in the US labor market. Still, that doesn’t mean second half of the year will bring “consistent job declines,” in Richardson’s view.
Wages continue to be a more positive indicator in the labor market, with ADP Pay Insights data showing Wednesday that wages for workers who changed jobs grew 6.8% in June while wages for those who stayed in the same job grew 4.4%. Both were down slightly from the month prior.
“When we are seeing such stability in pay growth for job stayers and also job changers, which are both sensitive to [current] economic conditions, it tells me that we have a labor market that still has some solid underpinnings, even though the momentum has closed since the beginning of the year,” Richardson said.
The data comes as investors have been closely watching for any signs of cooling in the labor market as debate over when the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next intensifies. As of Wednesday morning, markets were pricing in at least two interest rate cuts for 2025, up from the one seen just a month prior, per Bloomberg data.
In recent weeks, labor market data has been mixed.
Hiring has remained low and the number of Americans filing for continuing unemployment claims has ticked higher. On Tuesday, however, new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed 7.76 million jobs open at the end of May, an increase from the 7.39 million seen the month prior and the highest level of monthly job openings since November 2024.
This release showed both the hiring and quits rates hovering near decade lows, reflecting what economists have described as a labor market in “stasis,” as workers aren’t being laid off at concerning levels but aren’t willingly switching jobs either.
