The United States private sector shed more than 11,000 jobs per week on average through late October, as economists predict a historic decline in the job market in recent weeks.
Data from private payroll processing firm ADP found private employers shed 11,250 jobs in the four weeks ending 25 October 25.
This suggests that the U.S. labour market is struggling to produce jobs consistently in the second half of the month.
This was the first decline recorded since August, where an average of nearly 20,000 jobs were lost in the four weeks ending 30 August.
Earlier in the month, the job market appeared to be stronger with the ADP reporting that private-sector payrolls increased by 42,000 in October, surpassing the Wall Street estimate of 37,500 and marking a rebound from the 29,000 shed in September.
More than 1 million jobs have been cut in the country this year.
This marks a 65% increase from the more than 664,000 announced over the same period last year, according to career services firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas.
The government sector had the most cuts after reporting more than 300,000 job losses, followed by the technology, warehousing, retail and service sectors.
The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index also fell 0.6 points in October to 98.2, but remained above the 52-year average of 98.
The Uncertainty Index dropped even further to 88 points, the lowest reading of the year.
“Optimism among small businesses declined slightly in October as owners report lower sales and reduced profits,” NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg said.
“Additionally, many firms are still navigating a labour shortage and want to hire but are having difficulty doing so, with labour quality being the top issue for Main Street.”
