The Labor Department’s report on Friday has confirmed our worst fears: the unemployment rate has refreshed to 7.2 percent, the highest level in 16 years.
According to the report, for all of 2008, America shed about 2.6 million jobs This is the most since 1945, when 2.8 million jobs were lost.
Revised reports show that employers slashed 584,000 positions in November and 423,000 in October, a deeper figure than the 550,000 previously forecasted by economists.
The unemployment rate rose from 6.8 percent in November to 7.2 percent last month, the highest since 1993.
Industry-specific losses were widespread. Manufacturers cut 149,000 jobs, while construction shed 101,000. Professional and business services cut 113,000, retailers axed 67,000, and leisure and hospitality jobs were reduced by 22,000, leaving 11.1 million people unemployed in December.
And yet the bad news persists with few reassuring signs. Economists are now forecasting that the unemployment rate could rocket up to 9 or 10 percent this year.
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January 9th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Ugh. While the news this morning didn’t surprise me it’s still depressing and a sign that things will get worse before they get better.
January 12th, 2009 at 10:49 pm
I always wondered what corporate recruiters do in hiring freezes??? Well? What do you guys do? Not being wise guy, just seriously curious. HR handles much of the admin/paperwork – so if you’re not staffing and next to no turnover, what other workload do you have? Or what are you doing in times like these? (besides ducking in the cube like many of us)