Once again, the private sector continued to shed jobs this month. But in an attempt to look on the not-so-bleak side of things, it was the smallest monthly decline in over two years.

According to a study by payroll powerhouse Automatic Data Processing (you probably know them as ADP — you might remember their logo on your paychecks from when you had a job), 23,000 jobs were lost in the private sector in March.

Prognosticators had actually expected to see an of 40,000 jobs for March. That more positive number may be reflected when the federal government releases its jobs report, which will include the massive amount of temporary hires for the 2010, later this week.

“American businesses are on the cusp of recovery,” says Gary Butler of ADP. “Yet this report shows that they remain hesitant to increase their payrolls.”

Some areas of employment are actually hiring right now, says the report. For the second month in a row, ADP saw an increase in service jobs. The 28,000 new hires in March was the highest number for service jobs since March 2008.

On the down side, a total of 60,000 jobs were lost in goods-producing and manufacturing.

Private sector continues to shed jobs [CNN]

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