For small businesses hit by soaring costs, layoffs are painful and personal

American small businesses are trimming their payrolls just as the busy holiday shopping season ramps up.

American small businesses are trimming their payrolls, just as the busy holiday shopping season ramps up.

Companies with fewer than 50 employees shed 120,000 jobs in November, according to data from payroll processing giant ADP. The sharp drop comes just ahead of a month that, for many small businesses, is the most pivotal sales period of the year.

“The labor market is not weak but it is weakening, and the first to crack is small establishments,” ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said on a conference call Thursday.

She noted that high inflation, wavering consumer spending, tariffs and broader economic uncertainty have all contributed to the pressure on smaller businesses.

But the data doesn’t capture the whole story for small-business owners, many of whom are agonizing over how to do right by employees they care deeply about, and still keep the lights on.