The US job market continues to show signs of weakening

Sponsored by

Shake the (cap) table. Pulley is cap table management that works for you. They’re changing the game with ready-made reports and built-in compliance that can accelerate daily work.

In more bad news for the job market, the US lost 32,000 private sector jobs in September according to payroll processor ADP. The losses come as a surprise as Wall Street forecasters expected an increase of 45,000 jobs according to NBC News.

September wasn’t the only month that took a hit in the latest numbers. ADP also revised the August job number downward, moving from 54,000 jobs gained to 3,000 lost in the month. The total number of jobs lost in recent months could be much higher because the ADP analysis does not include government employees.

ADP attributed the dip, in part, to hiring hesitancy by employers.

“Despite the strong economic growth we saw in the second quarter, this month’s release further validates what we’ve been seeing in the labor market, that US employers have been cautious with hiring,” said Nela Richardson, a chief economist at ADP, in a press release.

This may be the only job numbers to come out this week. The Bureau of Labor Statistics would normally release its employment statistics on Friday, but the government shutdown will delay, or cancel, the release.

Small businesses took the biggest hit. Businesses with fewer than 50 employees lost 40,000 jobs while medium-sized businesses of 50-499 employees lost 20,000 jobs. Large businesses of 500+ saw a gain of 33,000.

There is a sliver of silver in the news. Workers who kept their jobs saw a 4.5% increase in wages year over year.

The ADP research is based on weekly payroll data of 26 million private sector employees in the US.