President Donald Trump is quietly benefiting from the federal government shutting down.
The shutdown, which began at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, arrived just in time to delay the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ September jobs report, which was set to be released later in the morning.
Job gains have slowed in recent months, and many experts projected that the latest figures from the bureau would be equally dire. Such bad news would be yet another headache for Trump, whose approval rating on the economy has plummeted in the wake of his tariff crusade.
Wednesday’s subtle victory for the White House was partially undercut by troubling figures being released by the private payroll processing firm ADP, which reported that 32,000 American private sector jobs were lost in September.
The numbers from ADP were well below expectations, as economists surveyed by Dow Jones had estimated that 45,000 jobs would be added to the economy in September, not the inverse.
Making matters worse for the White House, August’s payroll figures were revised to a loss of 3,000 jobs—significantly down from an increase of 54,000 jobs that ADP previously reported. The revision means ADP reported net job losses in back-to-back months for the first time since 2020, says BlueTrust Chief Investment Officer Brian McClard.
Ugly employment data from ADP this morning.Sep job growth was -32k & Aug was revised down to -3k (first consecutive negative months since 2020)Recently, ADP’s closely tracked BLS payroll data (scheduled for Friday), which will likely be delayed due to the gov’t shutdown. pic.twitter.com/oDAoxNFuAO
— Brian McClard (@BrianMcClardCFA) October 1, 2025
The falling figures align with recent reports from the BLS, which stated that the only sectors to gain jobs in August were healthcare and social work—industries heavily reliant on government spending.
The lack of a report will partially shield Trump from criticism, but will not change the reality that the American economy has slowed down under his leadership, experts say. Trump has retaliated against the unfriendly figures by firing the now-former BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, but the controversial change has not boosted his job figures. Trump’s replacement for McEntarfer, conservative economist E.J. Antoni, had his nomination pulled by the White House on Tuesday night.
Between mass deportations, sending troops into U.S. cities, on-and-off tariffs, and the firing of longtime federal workers, there has been no shortage of distractions from the economy in MAGA 2.0. Still, Americans are feeling the strain of its slowdown and rising inflation, with grocery prices spiking to their highest levels last month.
Trump’s approval rating has taken a hit as a result, with the majority of respondents to a Reuters poll last month saying that they feel the president is taking the economy in the wrong direction.
The Wall Street Journal wrote that the September job losses came as a “surprise,” writing that it “is the latest sign that the labor market is weakening.”
The Federal Reserve lowered short-term interest rates by a quarter percentage point in September and has signaled that further cuts are likely due to weak hiring figures.
However, it is not all doom and gloom for the economy. It expanded 3.8 percent in the second quarter of 2025 and is on pace for a 3.9 percent gain in the third quarter, says the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow data tracker. The unemployment rate also remains at a “relatively low” 4.3 percent, says CNBC.
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