The U.S. lost an estimated 23,000 nonfarm, private sector jobs in March on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to Automatic Data Processing Inc.'s (NYSE: ADP) monthly employment report released today.

However, the employment number to be reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Services on Friday may be higher, according to ADP. The company said its estimate doesn't include federal hiring in March for the 2010 Census. In addition, the bureau's number in February may have been impacted by inclement weather, setting the stage for a rebound in March. ADP's number for February was not impacted by the weather.

The ADP report said service-sector jobs rose by 28,000 in March, but that gain was offset by a decline in the goods-producing sector of 51,000.

ADP also revised its estimate of jobs lost in January to 24,000 from its previous estimate of 20,000.

The ADP report is derived from an anonymous subset of approximately 500,000 U.S. business clients.