U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell departs after holding a press conference following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on interest rate policy in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 7, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
President Donald Trump on Wednesday angrily urged Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to cut interest rates, minutes after the payroll firm ADP reported its lowest private-sector jobs number in years.
“ADP NUMBER OUT!!! ‘Too Late’ Powell must now LOWER THE RATE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“He is unbelievable!!!” the president said of the central bank chairman, whom he has frequently pressured to shave rates in hopes of spurring economic growth.
Trump added: “Europe has lowered NINE TIMES!”
ADP’s report showed private payrolls ticked up by just 37,000 in May, far below the Dow Jones forecast for 110,000.
The count was the lowest monthly reading from ADP since March 2023.
The weak result came two days before the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its own monthly U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, which is much more closely watched than ADP’s figure.
Economists polled by Dow Jones expect the upcoming report to show an increase 125,000 jobs for May.
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