According to an ADP report released today, December saw the loss of 693,000 private, non-agricultural jobs in the United States. November saw 476,000 jobs lost.

Forecasts saw the numbers to be a bit better, ranging from 250,000 to 550,000 jobs lost.

Important to note, however, is that December is the first month the ADP has implemented a new methodology, which is supposed to provide a more accurate picture of the labor market.

According to Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, “The new methodology uses the raw ADP figures, plus data on jobless claims and previous payrolls, to model current payrolls, resulting in a much smaller error compared with the previous method which relied solely on the ADP figures.”

While this is so, spokemsan for the ADP report, Joel Prakken, told CNBC that the economy is struggling at a pace not seen since 1981 or perhaps even World War II.

According to the report, the goods-producing sector saw employment declines hit 220,000, the 23rd consecutive monthly decline. The manufacturing sector saw job losses reaching 120,000, marking the 27th month of decline out of the previous 28 months.

Firms with 500 or more employees saw a drop of 91,000 for the month, medium-sized firms saw 321,000 jobs lost, and small firms (those with less than 50 workers) saw a drop of 281,000.

Construction saw its 21st month of continuous decline at 102,000 jobs lost for the month.

ADP National Employment Report

Popularity: 42% [?]