The U.S. economy contracted in the first three months of 2025 on an import surge at the start of President Donald Trump's second term in office as he wages a potentially costly trade war. Gross domestic product, a sum of all the goods and services produced from January through March, fell at a 0.3% annualized pace, according to a Commerce Department report Wednesday adjusted for seasonal factors and inflation. This was the first quarter of negative growth since Q1 of 2022.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a gain of 0.4% after GDP rose by 2.4% in the fourth quarter of 2024. However, over the past day or so some Wall Street economists changed their outlook to negative growth, largely due to an unexpected rise in imports as companies and consumers sought to get ahead of the Trump tariffs implemented in early April.
U.S. Economy Shrank 0.3% in The First Quarter as Trump Policy Uncertainty Weighed on Businesses
Companies slowed hiring sharply in April as they braced against potential impacts from President Donald Trump's tariffs against U.S. trading partners, ADP reported Wednesday. Private sector payrolls rose by just 62,000 for the month, the smallest gain since July 2024, amid heightened uncertainty over the degree of the tariffs and the impact they would have on hiring plans and broader economic conditions.
The total marked a deceleration from the downwardly revised gain of 147,000 in Marchand missed the Dow Jones consensus estimate for an increase of 120,000.
Private Payroll Growth Slowed to 62,000 in April, Well Below Expectations
