By Timothy R. Homan Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Companies in the U.S. unexpectedly cut workers in August, data from a private report based on payrolls showed. Employment fell by 10,000, according to figures today from ADP Employer Services. The median estimate of 35 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a gain of 15,000. Forecasts ranged from a decline of 50,000 to a 55,000 increase. A loss of jobs raising the rsik that consumer spending, the largest part of the economy, will retrench and halt the recovery. A Labor Department report in two days will show companies added 42,000 workers last month, economists projected. “Growth is likely to remain soft through the rest of 2010, preventing any significant improvement in the labor market,” Gus Faucher, director of macroeconomics at Moody’s Economy.com in West Chester, Pennsylvania, said before the report. “Job growth will be soft through the rest of this year but will pick up in 2011.” Over the previous six reports, ADP’s initial figures were closest to the Labor Department’s first estimate of private payrolls in February, when they overestimated the drop in jobs by 2,000. The estimate was least accurate in April, when it underestimated the employment gain by 199,000. The Labor Department’s report on Sept. 3 will also show the jobless rate increased to 9.6 percent from 9.5 percent, according to the survey median. To contact the reporter on this story: Timothy R. Homan in Washington at thoman1@bloomberg.net

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