MW ADP says just 77,000 private jobs created in February as businesses navigate Trump tariffs

By Jeffry Bartash

Increase in hiring was slowest since last summer

U.S. businesses created just 77,000 new jobs in January, paycheck company ADP said, in a sign the economy could be slowing as businesses weighed how to respond to President Trump 's plan to boost tariffs.

The increase was the smallest since last summer. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast a gain of 148,000 new jobs in the ADP's November survey.

"Policy uncertainty and a slowdown in consumer spending might have led to layoffs or a slowdown in hiring last month," said Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP. "Our data, combined with other recent indicators, suggests a hiring hesitancy among employers as they assess the economic climate ahead."

ADP also reported a revised 186,000 increase in employment in January, up from a preliminary 183,000.

The economy has been adding enough jobs to keep U.S. unemployment low and stable at around 4%.

Yet broad reductions among federal employees, a crackdown on immigration and and rising tariffs could put a dent in hiring and raise the jobless rate in the short run, economists say.

ADP has not been a good predictor of the government's official jobs estimate that follows a few days later, but the two reports do move in the same direction over time.

The government on Friday is expected to an increase of 183,000 new jobs in January, a Wall Street Journal poll of economists showed.

In premarket trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA and S&P 500 SPX were set to open slightly higher in Wednesday trading after a string of sharp losses in response to the Trump tariffs.

-Jeffry Bartash

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March 05, 2025 08:23 ET (13:23 GMT)

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