U.S. lost 2.6 million jobs in 2008

U.S. employers shed 2.6 million jobs in 2008, the worst year since 1945, the government reported Friday, and a rapidly deteriorating economy promises more significant losses ahead. The unemployment rate jumped to 7.2 percent in December, the highest since January 1993, up from 6.8 percent in November, the Labor Department said. More than 11 million Americans are now unemployed. Economists fell over themselves in describing the dire nature of the jobs report, which they said was alarming confirmation that the economy was in the midst of a sharp contraction. "The toughest six months will be the just-completed fourth quarter and the first quarter of this year," said Robert Barbera, chief economist at the Investment Technology Group, a research and trading firm. He said that a stimulus package, if it was large enough, should... [read full story]                    

powered by