Manufacturing Slides Again as ADP Reports January Job Losses Under Trump Tariffs

Overview

• Private payroll firm ADP estimates the manufacturing sector lost 8,000 jobs in January, extending a run of monthly declines since Trump took office.
• Federal figures show factories cut employment in each of the eight months after the White House’s “Liberation Day” tariffs were unveiled.
• Overall manufacturing employment is now at its lowest level since the pandemic ended, according to reporting on federal labor data.
• The Institute for Supply Management recorded 26 straight months of contraction through December, then reported a January rise in new orders and production.
• Stop-and-start tariff moves and a potential Supreme Court ruling on emergency tariff authority have heightened uncertainty, with executives saying tariffs delivered little benefit.