Private Sector Job Losses Continued in February

Roseland, NJ, March 4, 2009--The private sector continued to shed jobs in February, according to a report by ADP Employer Services.

ADP said on Wednesday that private employers cut 697,000 jobs in February versus a revised 614,000 jobs lost in January. The January job cuts were originally reported at 522,000.

It was the biggest job loss since the report's launch in 2001 and showed the misery of declining employment spreading broadly and evenly throughout the economy.

The service sector, which often resists the grip of recession longer than other areas, accounted for more than half of the total losses, reflecting the rapid deterioration of the economy in recent months.

The forecasts in the poll ranged widely from a drop of 730,000 to losses of 500,000.