Accelerating a decline of 26,000 jobs in September, the U.S. private sector shed 157,000 jobs in October, according to a survey conducted by Automatic Data Processing (ADP).
ADP noted that its survey had not taken into account a strike by 27,000 machinists at aerospace giant Boeing that began September 6 and ended Sunday.
The October report "offers evidence of a labor market that continues to weaken," ADP said.
The goods-producing sector drove the payrolls loss, shedding 126,000 jobs in its 23rd consecutive monthly decline, while the manufacturing sector marked its 26th straight monthly decline, losing 85,000 jobs.
The huge services sector lost 31,000 jobs, the first decline in the ADP report since November 2002, when the economy was emerging from recession.
Small businesses employing fewer than 50 workers were hard hit, losing 25,000 jobs in the first decline since November 2002, the ADP said
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2008
