Widespread U.S. hiring not begun: ADP's Prakken

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Widespread hiring at U.S. companies has not begun as businesses remain worried about uncertainty over the future of the economy, Macroeconomic Advisers LLC chairman Joel Prakken said on Wednesday.

Prakken was speaking to a teleconference of journalists after the ADP Employer Services report on private sector employment, which his firm jointly developed. The report showed private employers unexpectedly cut 10,000 jobs last month.

Prakken said he expects Friday's U.S. nonfarm payrolls report to be solidly in negative territory, hurt in part by the continuing evaporation of Census jobs.

Prakken said that while Wednesday's figure was disappointing, it was not particularly surprising given other recent economic data that has suggested a slowing recovery.

(Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by James Dalgleish)