Private Sector Job Cuts Lowest in 14 Months

Washington, DC, Sept. 30, 2009--Private-sector firms in the U.S. cut 254,000 jobs in September, according to the ADP employment report.

It was the fewest jobs lost since July 2008.

In August, a revised 277,000 jobs were lost compared with the 298,000 originally reported, ADP said.

Goods-producing jobs fell by 151,000, including 71,000 in manufacturing and 73,000 in construction. Services-producing jobs fell by 103,000.

The jobs data come two days before the government releases its estimate of September nonfarm payrolls. Economists are looking for payrolls to drop by 167,000 in the government survey, which would be the smallest decline since August 2008.

The ADP index does not include government jobs.

According to ADP, 7.1 million private-sector jobs have been lost since the recession began, in line with the 7 million lost in the Labor Department's estimate through August.