ADP Employment Report Better Than Expected

Roseland, NJ, April 2, 2008--The ADP employment report for March showed a gain of 8,000 jobs, beating expectations of a 45,000 job loss.

February’s job losses were revised to 18,000, an improvement of 5,000 from the initial estimate.

"Though positive, the slight increase of 8,000 in March signals a continuing sharp deceleration of employment growth from previous levels," the report said.

The weakness was most pronounced among larger businesses in manufacturing in March.

In the service-providing sector, employment grew by 85,000, while the manufacturing sector saw a decline of 58,000 jobs. Overall, the goods producing sector dropped 77,000 jobs,  marking the 16th consecutive monthly decline.

Residential construction employment, an area hit particularly hard by the mortgage crisis, fell 22,000 in March, the 16th decline in a row, bringing the total decline in construction jobs since August 2006 to 259,000.