U.S. Companies Slashed Payrolls More Than Forecast in March, ADP Data Show

[Purveyor]

Source: Bloomberg

By Bob Willis

April 1 (Bloomberg) -- Companies in the U.S. cut an estimated 742,000 workers in March, pointing to no relief in sight for the labor market amid the longest recession in seven decades, a private report based on payroll data showed today.

The drop in the ADP Employer Services gauge was larger than economists forecast and the most since records began in 2001. February’s reading was revised to show cut of 706,000 workers, up from a previous estimate of 697,000.

Companies are slashing staff as tight credit conditions and shrinking household wealth cause sales to shrink. The Labor Department may report in two days that employers cut payrolls in March for a 15th consecutive month, putting jobs losses in the current downturn at more than 5 million, according to a Bloomberg survey.

“The weakness is distributed across all components of the economy,” Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers LLC in St. Louis, said in a conference call. “We are going to see several more months of serious bleeding before we see lesser job losses.”

The ADP report was forecast to show a decline of 663,000 jobs, according to the median estimate of 30 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Projections were for decreases ranging from 525,000 to 750,000.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=a5v2qhnRrcWU&refer=home

[marketcrazy1]

1. February was worse than they thought too

FEB was revised to 706,000 from 697,000......

[w4rma]

2. Everyone is drowning in debt. It's not lack of credit, it's that there is too much debt. (nt)