September job losses fewer than feared

U.S. private-sector companies lost 8,000 jobs in September, far fewer than expected after 37,000 positions were shed in August, according to the monthly ADP National Employment Report released today. The September median job decline forecast of 27 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was 50,000. The data did not reflect the strike of around 27,000 machinist workers against Chicago-based The Boeing Co., who are still counted as employed, and potential job losses resulting from recent hurricanes that struck the Gulf Coast, according to Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers LLC. St. Louis-based Macroeconomic Advisers jointly produces the jobs data with Roseland, N.J. - based Automatic Data Processing Inc. Sectors that showed job growth in September included accounting, banking and insurance, with a gain of 4,000, and retail, education and health care, which added 64,000 new jobs. Goods-producing industries, which include manufacturers, felt the brunt of a struggling economy, shedding 72,000 positions last month. Construction employment dropped 29,000 marking the 22nd straight monthly decline in this sector. Since August of 2006, 409,000 construction jobs have been lost. The ADP report comes two days before the Department of Labor is scheduled to release its monthly numbers for U.S payrolls.