Private sector cuts 8,000 jobs in September

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-10-01 21:31

NEW YORK -- U.S. private employers cut a surprisingly low 8,000 jobs in September, a report by a private employment service said on Wednesday, although the data did not include the financial chaos of the past two weeks.

ADP Employer Services also said it revised the number of jobs lost in August to 37,000 from the originally reported loss of 33,000.

The ADP report was expected to show 60,000 private-sector jobs were lost in September, according to the median of estimates from 29 economists surveyed by Reuters.

The ADP data comes ahead of the government's comprehensive labor market report on Friday, which is expected to show the U.S. economy as a whole shed jobs for a ninth consecutive month in September.

Economists' median forecast is for the September non-farm payrolls report, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, to show a loss of 100,000 jobs.

However, economists say the ADP report is not always a reliable indicator of the payrolls report.

"We had a better-than-expected reading on ADP, but I don't think people will get terribly excited about it," said Win Thin, currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York.

"The series hasn't been very accurate in predicting the government payroll figures and investors seem to be very focused right now on the bailout voting."

Financial markets were little changed following the report, as investors awaited the outcome of the U.S. Senate's vote on a financial sector bailout bill.

U.S. stock index futures indicated a weaker open on Wall Street and U.S. government bonds, which usually benefit more from signs of economic weakness, were steady at higher levels.

The ADP Employer Services report was jointly developed with Macroeconomic Advisers LLC.