Goldman Sachs Changes U.S. Jobs Forecast to Show Larger Cuts

Goldman Sachs Changes U.S. Jobs Forecast to Show Larger Cuts

Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. today said the economy probably lost more jobs in September than it previously anticipated, citing “disappointing” economic data including the number of people receiving jobless benefits.

Payrolls probably fell by 250,000 workers last month rather than the 200,000 Goldman had previously estimated, chief U.S. economist Jan Hatzius said in a note to clients.

Hatzius said declines in the Monster Worldwide Inc.’s index of online help-wanted ads, the Institute for Supply Management’s factory employment gauge and consumers’ assessments of the labor market from the Conference Board’s confidence survey prompted the change. Additionally, the total number of people receiving jobless benefits, including those getting extended benefits, remains elevated, he said.

The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projects the economy lost 175,000 jobs last month, compared with 216,000 in August. The economy has lost about 6.9 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007.

Last month, Goldman projected a 250,000 drop in payrolls for August, exceeding figure reported by the Labor Department. On Aug. 6, Goldman lowered its forecast for July payroll losses to 250,000 from a prior 300,000 projection, putting it in line with the government’s initial estimate of 247,000.

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