By Alicia Wallace, CNN

(CNN) — The brief US government shutdown has delayed the official jobs report for January, but the first look at hiring activity in the private sector showed that employment gains sputtered to start the year.

Payroll giant ADP reported Wednesday that employers in the private sector added just 22,000 jobs in January, about half the size of the 45,000-job gain economists were expecting.

The weaker-than-expected January gains follow a year when hiring slowed significantly.

“Job creation took a step back in 2025, with private employers adding 398,000 jobs, down from 771,000 in 2024,” Nela Richardson, chief economist of ADP, said in the statement. “While we’ve seen a continuous and dramatic slowdown in job creation for the past three years, wage growth has remained stable.”

This story is developing and will be updated.

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