Unemployment Rate Hits 16-Year High

Amid discussions of a new economic stimulus package to kick start the economy, America’s unemployment rate registered an all time 16-year high, rising to 7.6% in January from 7.2% the month prior. And while the economy lost 598,000 non-farm jobs during the first month of 2009, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) further reveals that it also revised upwards the job losses for December. The report, issued by BLS also notes that since the recession began in December 2007, 3.6 million jobs have been lost, with about half of the decrease occurring in the last 3 months. January 2009 saw employment decline in nearly all major industries, while healthcare and private education added jobs. Manufacturing employment fell by 207,000 in January, the largest one-month decline since October 1982. Furthermore, employment in financial activities declined by 42,000 over the month and by 388,000 since a peak in December 2006. In January, job losses occurred in securities, commodity contracts, and investments (-15,000) and in credit intermediation (-10,000). Conversely, health care employment continued to trend up in January with a gain of 19,000. Employment gains in the industry averaged 30,000 a month in 2008.
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Originally posted by Candice A