Several factors may have affected the latest data on private-sector job losses for November. Sabrina Escobar, a reporter for Barron's, joins CBS News with more.

Washington

Recent data from payroll firm ADP indicates that the U.S. private sector lost 32,000 jobs in November, contrary to economists' expectations of job growth. The decline is attributed to several factors, including increased productivity, inflation, and challenges faced by small businesses adapting to shifting economic and trade policies.

Despite the broader job losses, major retailers such as Dollar Tree, Macy's, and Costco have reported strong earnings and sales growth. These companies have benefited from consumer demand for value, strategic business changes, and improvements in customer experience, helping them gain market share during a challenging economic period.

New data shows major jobs loss in the private sector for November

All right, fresh new data shows employers in the private sector cut tens of thousands of jobs last month. Take a look at this. It's according to the payroll firm ADP. Private payrolls dropped 32,000 positions, and you see there, economists had predicted that we'd see 40,000 jobs added. President Trump's top economic advisor, Kevin Hassett, said employment might be stunted by what he referred to as a growth in productivity. Listen. Productivity means that everybody's, you know, making more stuff for the same hour that they worked. And productivity, there's a really simple story for why productivity's going up, which is that AI is becoming part of the way every business runs its stuff. And so we could be in a moment where productivity is booming, GDP is booming, and that it takes a while for firms to figure out how to use everybody they got because the people that they hired last year are so productive all of a sudden. Sabrina Escobar is here with me now to break all of this down. She is a reporter for Barron. Sabrina, good morning, welcome. What should we make of that claim that, hey, people are just more productive, and that's why places are having to cut jobs? Because we're also seeing it's really being driven by small businesses, and I'm wondering why small businesses are not medium or large size. Absolutely. You know, I think there's a lot that is affecting kind of the U.S. economy right now. There are many factors we can point to, whether it is productivity, whether it is inflation. There's so many headwinds, tailwinds that are kind of balancing each other out that are making it very difficult, I think, for any company to navigate, right? And certainly you think about AI, you think about the gains that can drive in terms of productivity are certainly real, and they are worthwhile. I think it's a bit early to see the real impact of those gains on the broader labor force. I think, in fact, what we saw in the current report is more, like you were saying, it's small businesses that are really struggling to deal with the comings and goings of all of these changes to trade policy, to economic policy. There's a lot that's really challenging them right now. It's a great point that you make, that there are so many changes this year, it's hard to identify which one is to blame or to credit for what we're seeing. I want to ask you about Macy's and Dollar Tree, because they released strong Q3 earnings after previously struggling. What are they getting right, do you think? So it's interesting. Both, I think, are very different stories. So with Dollar Tree, you are seeing the resurgence of the dollar store, I think, where consumers are flocking to value. They're looking to save a penny here and there. And dollar stores do have that, you know. And right now, Dollar Tree, I think, has really stepped up their game in terms of improving the store experience. They sold off Family Dollar. That was dragging on their overall performance. And I think we're going to see that help their business. And then for Macy's, they're just at the very early stages of a turnaround strategy under CEO Tony Spring that I think is really panning out for them. They're also improving that in-store shopping experience. They're trying to improve their merchandise assortment and resonate with consumers who, you know, it's a legacy brand. People, they want to like Macy's, right? There's so much good memories that come with shopping there. So I think it is a good destination for holiday spending. And it does offer value that people are looking for as well. Let me quickly ask you about Costco then, because it released strong sales growth in its first fiscal quarter and the month of November. This is a big box retailer. A lot of people love shopping there, too. But what's fueling its growth? I mean, Costco has just been growing like crazy these past few years, really. It just seems to tick all the boxes for people. You know, they have value. They have a really good assortment. They have a fantastic private label brand that people love to shop at. And so they're just gaining market share like crazy. And you can see that in their result. It's just quarter to quarter of strong growth and gaining market share. It's one of the big guys that are really winning retail right now. And they're keeping that hot dog $1.50. Exactly. That's the most important thing. That is a big one. Yes, absolutely. Sabrina Escobar, great to have you with us. Thanks so much.

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New York

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Moscow

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Brussels

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Los Angeles

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California

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Pokrovsk

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New Orleans

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Breakdown