THE US private sector shed 491,000 jobs in April, according to a survey of business employment, a sign that while job losses remain high, the freefall may be slowing.

Results from the monthly ADP Employer Services survey, which tracks private non-farm payroll employment, were better than expected and its lowest estimate of monthly job losses since October. The revised figure for March showed 708,000 jobs lost.

Some better than expected economic data in the past two months prompted cautious optimism among some US politicians, including President Obama, who said last month there were “glimmers of stabilisation” in the economy. On Tuesday Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, said demand in the US “may be stabilising”.

ADP changed its methodology in December after it significantly undershot the US government’s non-farm payroll figures. The survey is often used to help predict the official jobs data. However, March’s ADP result showed an unrevised estimate of 742,000, overshooting official figures, which found 663,000 jobs lost. –