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| Wednesday, March 4, 2009, 5:26pm EST Private sector employment decreased by 697,000 last month, according to ADP’s national employment report released March 4. The report is compiled from actual payroll data and measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month. The report said employment in the service-providing sector fell by 359,000. Employment in the goods-producing sector dropped by 338,000 and the manufacturing industry shed 219,000 positions, marking three full years of consecutive monthly declines. “The employment losses are spread throughout the economy in all sectors in all sizes of companies,” said Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers LLC, which developed the report. He points out that the gross domestic product (GDP) was declining faster than 6 percent in the fourth quarter, and his forecast suggests that the GDP will contract in the first quarter almost that fast. “Since employment trails GDP by several months, it tells me through the months of winter and spring we are likely to see monthly declines in employment,” he said. Link to Article |