According to a private report released today, for the first time in nearly five years, U.S. private employment dropped unexpectedly in February, dealing another blow to a wavering economy, Reuters reported.

The decline of 23,000 jobs compares with a downwardly revised 119,000 jobs added in January, according to the report by ADP Employer Services. February’s fall was the biggest drop since April 2003. Thirty economists surveyed by Reuters had on average expected the ADP report to show 20,000 new private-sector jobs in February.

February’s decline was the first monthly contraction in private employment since June 2003, according to the ADP data, and does not bode well for Friday’s monthly jobs report from the government. Analysts expect that report to show a rise of 25,000 in February nonfarm payrolls. However, the 82 estimates for the payrolls report range widely from a drop of 110,000 to a rise of 100,000. The ADP report was jointly developed with Macroeconomic Advisers LLC.