532,000 jobs were lost in the private sector in May according to an ADP employment report released Wednesday. Although the rate of unemployment is expected to go up from 8.9 to 9.2% this month, the numbers for May show that the number of jobs being cut has declined in the past few months. The 532,000 jobs lost this month, represent the lowest totals since November. Economist Ian Shepherdson referred to the data as "still terrible, undoubtedly, but a bit less terrible." Another economist, Joel Prakken, says that although there signs of a recovering economy, employments tends to lag behind fiscal improvement, and could continue to decline for several months. May will be the seventh straight month in which over 500,000 jobs have been lost per month.
See "Private sector cuts 532,000 jobs in May, ADP says", Rex Nutting, Market Watch, June 2, 2009