Manufacturing sector sheds more jobs

Business financing troubles continue to plague the manufacturing industry which shed another 146,000 private sector jobs last month, according to the latest ADP National Employment Report.

A slowdown in consumer demand coupled with ongoing weakness in the housing market and the auto industry have caused financial problems and management headaches for small businesses and manufacturing companies that serve them.

Broadly, ADP reports that nonfarm private employment fell by 473,000 in June while small businesses lost 177,000 positions and medium-sized firm employment declined by 205,000.

Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, which partners with ADP to release the numbers, said, "Monthly employment losses in April, May, and June averaged 492,000. This is a notable improvement over the first three months of the year, when monthly losses averaged 691,000."

"Nevertheless, despite some recent indications that economic activity is stabilizing, employment, which usually trails overall economic activity, is likely to decline for at least several more months, although perhaps not as rapidly as during the last six months," he added.