Job reports show differing views

Two reports Wednesday on the labor market provided starkly different views, showing that the strength and timing of the nation's economic recovery are uncertain.

ADP Employer Services said private companies in the United States unexpectedly cut 10,000 workers in August. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had estimated a gain of 15,000 jobs during the month.

It was the first monthly fall in jobs, as calculated by ADP, this year. ADP, the nation's largest payroll-processing company, also said the gains it reported in July were revised downward 5,000, to 37,000.

Its assessment contrasted with the other report, which showed that the number of planned layoffs announced by U.S. firms in August fell 17 percent from July and 55 percent from August last year. Last month's layoff total came to 34,768, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. said.

August marked the first month-to-month drop in layoffs since April, and it was the largest decline since June 2000, Challenger Gray said.

Wednesday's statistics come as employers and workers participating in the Pennsylvania Way to Work program gear up for a rally Thursday to push for an extension of the government-subsidized jobs program, which is set to end Sept. 30.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included funds to pay employers to hire people, with the expectation they would make the positions permanent when funding ended. The program has created 240,000 jobs nationally.

In Pennsylvania, about 4,200 employers have used the program to fund 12,000 jobs, 2,700 in Philadelphia.

The rally is set for 11 a.m. at Progress Plaza on North Broad Street.