Private payrolls dropped by the most in two and half years — a surprise dip that comes ahead of the Federal Reserve’s decision on whether to cut interest rates later this month as a government shutdown looks poised to halt the release of key economic data.

Payrolls at US companies declined by 32,000 in September, far below estimates of 50,000 added jobs in the latest sign of labor market weakness, according to an ADP report released Wednesday.

It was the biggest slide in private payroll growth since March 2023, and followed a revised decline of 3,000 in August – down from initial estimates of growth of 54,000. 4

It’s also likely the last labor market insight for some time, as funding impasses in Washington, DC, prompted the first government shutdown since President Trump’s first

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