U.S. businesses created just 77,000 new jobs in February, payroll company ADP said, in a sign the economy could be slowing as businesses weighed how to respond to President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Private payroll growth in February came in well short of expectations, according to private payroll processor ADP's monthly report. According to ADP, 77,000 private sector jobs were created in February and annual pay was up 4.

The forecast for the forthcoming BLS report is that 156,000 jobs were added in February. The ADP employment report revealed that 77,000 nonfarm private jobs were added in February, the fewest amount since July.