Kesha Calhoun, 25, left, and Kristin Merritt, 20, both of Detroit, share notes at a Cobo job fair. Michigan leads the nation in unemployment. (Clarence Tabb Jr. / The Detroit News)
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
By Alan Rappeport in New York
September 1 2010 15:37
Private-sector employment in the US fell for the first time this year in August, underscoring fears that a recovery in the labour market is faltering, but a surprise rise in manufacturing activity offered a glimmer of hope for the sputtering economy.
Businesses shed 10,000 workers last month, according to ADP Employer Services. That was the first monthly decline since last December and failed to meet economists’ projections that hiring would edge higher.
The US private sector added a revised 37,000 jobs in July.
“The decline in private employment in August confirms a pause in the recovery already evident in other economic data,” ADP said in its report.
In August, the manufacturing sector was hit the hardest, with businesses that produce goods cutting 40,000 workers. Construction workers felt the brunt of that decline, with 33,000 losing their jobs as the housing market stalled.
The troubles facing the housing market were highlighted by a separate commerce department report on Wednesday that showed construction spending falling by 1 per cent to an annual rate of $805.2bn in July. T
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