Job Losses Slow For Private Sector

Sponsored Links

Leading up to the key government employment statistics due out at the end of the week, a closely-watched industry report showed that job losses in the private sector slowed again last month.

Statistics released by payroll processor ADP showed that the private sector shed 84,000 jobs in December. This followed a revised drop of 145,000 the previous month.

The headline number was slightly better than the 90,000 decline expected by economists and the best reading since March of 2008.

The figure included a drop of 96,000 in the goods-producing sector, partially offset by a 12,000 increase in the service sector.

Another report released Wednesday showed that job cuts have fallen to their lowest level since the recession began in late 2007. Job placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. issued statistics showing 45,094 planned firings in December. This number was down 73 percent from 166,348 last month.

On Friday, the government is scheduled to release its monthly employment report, which many consider the most important set of economic statistics.

Last month, the government report showed the economy lost 11,000 jobs in November, a significantly slower decline than the 111,000 that was seen in October.

There is hope the economy returned to job growth in December, though the consensus of economists calls for another month of mild declines. There is also speculation that the unemployment rate could drop back into single-digit territory. In November, the jobless rate slipped to 10.0 percent from October's reading of 10.2 percent.

Leading up to the key government employment statistics due out at the end of the week, a closely-watched industry report showed that job losses in the private sector slowed again last month. Statistics released by payroll processor ADP showed that the private sector shed 84,000 jobs in December. This followed a revised drop of 145,000 in the previous month. The headline number was slightly better than the 90,000 decline expected by economists and the best since March of 2008. (Market News Provided by RTTNews)