U.S. companies shed 32,000 jobs in September, according to the payroll processing company ADP, a surprising decline that adds to growing concerns about the rapidly weakening labor market.
ADP, which released its monthly private sector employment report Wednesday, was expected by Wall Street to report job growth of 45,000 in the month.
The weak labor report comes after some recent economic data — gross domestic product and unemployment claims — offered a slightly more positive outlook for the U.S. economy.
“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 U.S. employers have been cautious with hiring," ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said.
ADP may be the only jobs data reported this week. The government shutdown, which began Wednesday, means that the Bureau of Labor Statistics is closed and unable to publish the official government jobs report Friday.
Companies with fewer than 50 employees were among those hit the hardest in September, with firms employing 20-49 employees shedding 21,000 jobs and those employing fewer than 19 workers losing 19,000 jobs.
ADP said the negative number was due in part to recently revised BLS data but "the trend was unchanged; job creation continued to lose momentum across most sectors." Additionally, "pay gains for job-changers slowed to 6.6% from 7.1% in August."
ADP also revised down August's employment growth of 54,000 to a loss of 3,000.
However, the company said that it found year-over-year pay growth for "job stayers," or people remaining in their roles for an extended period of time, continued to pace ahead of inflation at 4.5%.
Large companies with more than 500 people on their payrolls were the only to see gains, according to ADP's report.
ADP found that the weakest industries for jobs included leisure and hospitality, professional and business services companies, and businesses that conduct financial activities.
Trade, transportation and utility companies were also among the hardest-hit sectors.
