March Job Loss

ADP publishes a survey of the labor force prior to the official announcement by the government. The ADP survey has tracked the offical results closely most months. The March survey shows a loss of 742,000 jobs, which is more than many people thought or hoped. There had been some positive signs in the news--rising mortgage applications, retail sales levelling out, and sales of homes stabilizing. Normally, job loss or creation lags other indicators of the strength of the economy, but clearly the recent news suggests that the recession will continue into the near future.