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Private Sector Sheds 473,000 Jobs In June – Exceeds Forecasts
Private-sector jobs in the U.S. fell 473,000 in June, according to a national employment report published Wednesday by payroll giant Automatic Data Processing Inc. and consultancy Macroeconomic Advisers.
The expected loss exceeds the 400,000 drop forecast by economists in a Dow Jones Newswires survey and suggests that layoffs may be worsening.
The ADP survey tallies only private-sector jobs, while the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ nonfarm payroll data, to be released Thursday, include government workers. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expect that the BLS will report June job cuts totaling 350,000, on top of a 345,000 loss in May. The May unemployment rate is projected to rise to 9.6% from 9.4% in May.
Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, said, “Monthly employment losses in April, May, and June averaged 492,000. This is a notable improvement over the first three months of the year, when monthly losses averaged 691,000. Nevertheless, despite some recent indications that economic activity is stabilizing, employment, which usually trails overall economic activity, is likely to decline for at least several more months, although perhaps not as rapidly as during the last six months.”
The new ADP report showed large businesses with 500 employees or more shed 91,000 jobs and medium-size businesses lost 205,000 jobs last month. Small businesses that employ fewer than 50 workers cut 177,000 jobs in June.
Service-sector jobs fell 223,000 in June, while factory employment dropped 146,000.
ADP, of Roseland, N.J., says it processes payment of one in six U.S. workers, while Macroeconomic Advisers, based in St. Louis, is an economic consultant.
In another Wednesday job report, TrimTabs Investment Research estimated that job losses accelerated last month, with 472,000 jobs lost in June. TrimTabs uses daily income-tax withholdings to the U.S. Treasury to estimate changes in employment.
“Job losses slowed temporarily in May as consumers benefited from income tax refunds, President Obama’s tax credit, low interest rates, and low energy costs,” said Charles Biderman, chief executive of TrimTabs. “With the exception of the tax credit, all of those factors have disappeared or reversed.”
Outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas said that the number of layoffs announced by U.S. companies fell to a 15-month low of 74,393 in June. That was the fifth monthly drop in announcements in a row.
On Monday, on-line data firm Wanted Technologies said its tally of on-line job postings suggests payrolls fell 260,000 in June. Article by Kathleen Madigan for the Wall Street Journal. For more news and information, click the link below for www.wsj.com. The Wall Street Journal is the nation’s leading financial newspaper. Get a subscription to the Wall Street Journal today.
Private Sector Shed 473,000 Jobs, ADP Reports – WSJ.com.
