U.S. Private Employment Declines for the First Time in Two Years in June

Korea Economic Daily

Summary

In June, U.S. private employment decreased by 33,000 compared to the previous month, marking the first decline in two years.
A decline in service sector employment played a major role in the overall drop in employment.
It was reported that tariff policies of the Trump administration increased uncertainty, negatively affecting the job market.

ADP Survey…Down by 33,000 Compared to Previous Month

Increased Uncertainty Due to 'Trump Tariffs'

Last month, the U.S. private employment market showed a decline for the first time in about two years.

According to Automatic Data Processing (ADP), a U.S. employment information company, private sector employment in June decreased by 33,000 compared to the previous month. This is the first drop in two years and three months, since March 2023 (when it decreased by 53,000). Experts polled by Dow Jones had projected an increase of 100,000, but the actual result fell well short of expectations. By industry, there was a decrease of 56,000 jobs in professional and business services and 52,000 in education and health services, making reduction in the service sector a major factor in the overall employment decline in June.

Uncertainty caused by the tariff policies of the Donald Trump administration has been on the rise, and the rapid deterioration in sentiment among economic agents is believed to have had a negative impact. Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, explained that “employers hesitated to hire and were reluctant to replace departed employees, which led to employment losses last month.”

ADP’s private employment report is based on data collected by a private information company and may differ from the official U.S. government employment statistics. The U.S. Department of Labor is scheduled to release its jobs report on the 3rd.

Reporter: Da-Yeon Lim allopen@hankyung.com