U.S. companies shed 32,000 jobs in September in latest sign of labor market weakness

Question

If this is true is there any way we can try to support or help the jobs being lost.

Answer 1

It appears that due to the government shutdown, the official September 2025 jobs numbers have not yet been released. However, according to numbers released by payroll processing company ADP, private employers shed 32,000 jobs over the course of the month. Outlets like CNN and NBC News mention this ADP analysis in their reporting. 

Reuters noted ADP's findings as well, and also highlights "new data issued Thursday [10/2/25] by technology firm Intuit, based on a sample of roughly 400,000 small businesses from its QuickBooks platform, showed firms with from one to nine employees shed more than 48,000 jobs in September, a decline of around 0.37%." Reuters' reporting goes on to cite data from global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which published analysis on hiring plans that were the lowest since 2009, providing "further signs of a labor market at a standstill as the demand and supply of workers fall because of tougher immigration policy and technological advances".

Comments

I love how you used statistics directly from ADP and made sure to note that the official September 2025 jobs numbers have NOT YET been released -- this ensures that people cannot undermine your fact check for using "outdated" statistics. Also, I love that you relied not only on a primary source, but also incorporated secondary sources that reported on the same data. This was a great response!

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I think the reasoning and facts/sources you used are all very agreeable. Using multiple outlets makes your answer very strong, adding the fact that the official numbers have not been released shows you had fact checked in depth and listing the other ADP number as being used by other credible sources. The included information quoted from the report is another great addition that builds an answer with way to object.

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I think all the facts you pulled are very easy to agree with, you used credible sources like CNN, NBC News, Reuters etc. Also the data you pulled comes from reliable sources that are well known and really helps back up your claims. Using multiple sources helps confirm the numbers while the official job report is delayed from the shut down.

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First off I really like how you included that due to the government shutdown the official September 2025 job numbers have not yet released. Even though that the comment is talking about it. Then you mention multiple reliable sources like NBC, ADP, and CNN. great fact check.

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If the official government jobs report hasn’t been released, how reliable are private sources like ADP? How could the information and claim be affected by the report ultimately being released?

Answer 2

In the article, Steve Kopack, the writer for this NBC news story, finds that 32,000 people lost jobs in September. This is a tell tale sign of job market weakness and directly impacts Americans in the work force. Specifically, Steven shares towards the end of the article that leisure, hospitality, business, and finance companies are among the strongest in decline. Smaller companies with 20-49 employees were hit the hardest despite Wall Street’s optimism in the job market’s growth over the next month. In contradiction, companies with over 500 employees noticed steady growth over the last month. Because of the government shutdown, we’re unable to access an updated official government report.

When digging deeper into the article, Steve lists plenty other primary sources where he found his data. In the ADP Employment Report, “a reduction of 43,000 jobs in September compared to pre-benchmarked data.” This provides past information on the 2024 job market in September and shares that were continuing to decline. Although the U.S. has had steady growth economically, this verifies the cautionary decisions current employers are making. He also directs us to another NBC article written by Rob Wile titled, “The U.S. economy grew more than thought in the second quarter” and his findings for the United States’ GDP. It’s grown up to 3.8% which may force the Federal reserve to cut back on their rates moving into this next quarter.

NBC has the potential bias to generalize their information to appeal to a wider audience and strike fear in this group of readers. They're interested in capturing the attention of the reader which leaves opportunity for more emotional statistics involved in Steve’s writing. The ADP Employment Report serves a more corporate audience which may allow their data to differ from other government regulated sources favoring the general public.

5. What evidence supports the claim you are fact-checking?  “Private employers shed 32,000 jobs in September” (ADP Employment Report) “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.” (Steve Kopack)

6. What evidence undermines the claim you are fact-checking? “Large companies with more than 500 people on their payrolls were the only to see gains, according to ADP’s report.” (Steve Kopack) “The trend was unchanged; job creation continued to lose momentum across most sectors.” ADP Employment Report suggests that job opportunities are slowing down but not receiving a full shutdown and cutting of opportunities.