Small Business Lifts National Employment

"July''s growth in employment is consistent with the gains seen among small-size businesses during most of the recent months," said Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, LLC, which partners with Roseland-based Automatic Data Processing, Inc., to publish the monthly report. "These figures continue to offer evidence of the resiliency small-size businesses have demonstrated over the past several years when compared to the job losses experienced at larger firms."

But "though July''s figures showed a slight employment gain, the ADP report''s recent three-month average of negative 14,000 suggests that the weakened employment situation continues," he said. ADP revised its estimated change in employment between May and June from a decrease of 79,000 jobs to a decrease of 77,000 jobs.

"Two sectors of the economy hit hardest by recent problems in mortgage markets have been residential construction and financial activities related to home sales and mortgage lending," said Prakken. "Today''s report suggests some lessening of the recent strain on employment in these industries. In July, construction employment dropped 16,000. Though this was the twentieth consecutive monthly decline, and brings the total decline in construction jobs since the peak in August of 2006 to 350,000, it was one of the smallest declines in recent months. In addition, employment in financial activities rose 4,000 during the month."

The report is based on ADP data that during the six months of 2008 averaged about 399,000 payrolls, which represent almost 24 million employees nationwide, according to the company, which manages payrolls and provides human resources outsourcing services.