by Calculated Risk on 5/06/2009 08:50:00 AM

The ADP employment report hasn't been very useful in predicting the BLS numbers, but here it is anyway: April ADP Report:

Nonfarm private employment decreased 491,000 from March to April 2009 on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the ADP National Employment Report®. The estimated change of employment from February to March was revised by 34,000, from a decline of 742,000 to a decline of 708,000.

And from Bloomberg: U.S. April Job Cuts Rise 47% From a Year Ago, Challenger Says

Job cuts announced by U.S. employers in April increased 47 percent from a year earlier, led by government agencies and companies in the automotive industry, while the total was the lowest since October.
...
“Job cuts are still at recession levels, but the fact that they are falling is certainly promising and may suggest that employers are starting to feel a little more confident about future business conditions,” John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of the placement company, said in a statement. Still, he said, “state and local governments, as well as school districts, are really feeling the impact of this downturn.”

The BLS report for April will be released Friday. Hopefully the pace of job losses has slowed - over the last 5 months the BLS has reported 3.3 million net jobs lost!