Tariffs and International Trade Uncertainty Soar as U.S. April Employment Sees Sharp Slowdown

On Wednesday, April 30th, ADP reported that the company had significantly decelerated its hiring in April in response to the potential impact of President Trump's tariffs on U.S. trading partners. During the month, the private sector added only 62,000 jobs, which was the smallest increase since July 2024. This was due to the escalating uncertainty regarding the level of tariffs, their impact on hiring plans, and economic conditions. Wage growth also took a step backward. Job holders staying in the same position saw a 4.5% year-on-year increase, which was 0.1 percentage point lower than in March. However, job switchers saw an increase to 6.9%, which was 0.2 percentage points higher. From an industry perspective, the leisure and hospitality sector saw the largest increase, adding 27,000 jobs. Other growing industries included trade, transportation, and utilities (21,000), financial activities (20,000), and construction (16,000). Education and health services saw a decrease of 23,000 positions, and information services saw a decrease of 8,000 positions. (Jin10)