Private Employment Falls 23,000 in February

Roseland, NJ, March 5, 2008--Nonfarm private employment declined by 23,000 in February, the first drop since June 2003, according to the ADP National Employment Report.

Large firms were the hardest hit, but medium-sized businesses also lost 4,000 jobs, the first drop since June 2003.

Manufacturers fared worse than service-industries, losing 70,000 jobs. The service sector gained only 47,000.

The financial-services industry lost 5,000 jobs, and the residential-construction industry lost 30,000 jobs in its 15th straight month of decline.

January’s job gains were also revised down by 11,000 to 119,000.

The ADP National Employment report measures nonfarm private employment using payroll data from about 392,000 of ADP's U.S. client.