ADP Jobs Report Shows Deep Jobs Losses Across the Economy

This report does not include government employment.

It is considered an indicator of the national Non-Farm Payrolls Report which will be released on Friday morning.

ADP
ADP National Employment Report
Wednesday, January 7, 2009, 8:15 A.M. ET

Nonfarm private employment decreased 693,000 from November to December 2008 on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the ADP National Employment Report®. This month’s ADP Report incorporates methodological improvements intended to improve the correspondence between the nonfarm private employment estimates shown in the ADP Report and estimates published in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Situation Report.

December’s ADP Report estimates nonfarm private employment in the service-providing sector fell by 473,000. Employment in the goods-producing sector declined 220,000, the twenty-third consecutive monthly decline. Employment in the manufacturing sector declined 120,000, marking its twenty seventh decline over the last twenty eight months.

Large businesses, defined as those with 500 or more workers, saw employment decline 91,000, while medium-size businesses with between 50 and 499 workers declined 321,000. Employment among small-size businesses, defined as those with fewer than 50 workers, declined 281,000. (Notice the big hit taken by the smaller businesses, where most jobs had been created in the prior recovery. This is not good, and bodes ill for safe haven aspect of the broader stock equity indices. - Jesse)

Sharply falling employment at medium- and small-size businesses clearly indicates that the recession has now spread well beyond manufacturing and housing-related activities.

In December, construction employment dropped 102,000. This was its twenty-first consecutive monthly decline, and brings the total decline in construction jobs since the peak in January 2007 to 809,000.