Mitchell Hartman

In October, small- and mid-sized businesses actually shrank their headcounts, according to payroll processor ADP. That downsizing, said one business owner in Virginia, was due to the “devastating” tariffs.

October's 6.7% drop followed a spike in late summer before subsidies expired.

Manufacturing is up. Manufacturing is down. And there’s no government data to help settle the question.

Manufacturing is up. Manufacturing is down. And there’s no government data to help settle the question.

We’ve been without most government labor-market data for about a month.

The increase could be partially due to rising unemployment and stalling job creation.

But that’s a sign of a weakening economy.

The number of people who have spent six months or more looking for work has been rising.

Employers have added an anemic 35,333 jobs per month since May.

The most recent jobs report showed mediocre job creation in July.