ID :
44557
Fri, 02/06/2009 - 21:00
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/44557
The shortlink copeid
Jan. U.S. jobless rate hits over 16-yr high 7.6% as recession deepens
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 Kyodo -
The U.S. unemployment rate climbed to 7.6 percent in January, a more than
16-year high, as the battered economy forced employers to slash 598,000 nonfarm
jobs, the worst number in about 34 years, the Labor Department said Friday.
The dismal figures provide further evidence that the recession in the United
States is deepening amid the global financial crisis stemming from the U.S.
subprime mortgage meltdown.
The latest jobless rate, the highest since September 1992 when it also hit 7.6
percent, compared with 7.2 percent in December, 6.8 percent in November and 6.7
percent in October. The rate is expected to rise further to nearly double
digits over the next few years.
The December decline in nonfarm payrolls was revised upward to 577,000 from an
initial 524,000, the department said in a preliminary report. January's decline
marked the biggest fall since December 1974, when 602,000 jobs were cut.
''The labor market continued to weaken dramatically in January,'' Keith Hall,
commissioner of the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, said in a
statement.
''January's sharp drop in employment brings job losses to 3.6 million since the
start of the recession in December 2007. About half of the decline occurred in
the past three months,'' he said.
The department said the goods-producing sector cut 319,000 jobs in January,
with construction employment falling by 111,000 jobs and the manufacturing
sector eliminating 207,000 jobs.
The services sector, generally the engine of job creation in the United States,
lost 279,000 jobs after shedding a revised 327,000 jobs in December.
In the sector, retailers shed 45,100 jobs, compared with a revised fall of
82,700 the previous month, while professional and business services, including
providers of consulting, accounting and computer systems, lost 121,000 jobs.
Education and health services added 54,000 jobs, while the government sector
gained 6,000 jobs.
The department said average hourly earnings, a major barometer of inflation,
rose 5 cents to $18.46 in January.
The manufacturing sector's average workweek came to 39.8 hours, down 0.1 hour
from the preceding month.
==Kyodo
The U.S. unemployment rate climbed to 7.6 percent in January, a more than
16-year high, as the battered economy forced employers to slash 598,000 nonfarm
jobs, the worst number in about 34 years, the Labor Department said Friday.
The dismal figures provide further evidence that the recession in the United
States is deepening amid the global financial crisis stemming from the U.S.
subprime mortgage meltdown.
The latest jobless rate, the highest since September 1992 when it also hit 7.6
percent, compared with 7.2 percent in December, 6.8 percent in November and 6.7
percent in October. The rate is expected to rise further to nearly double
digits over the next few years.
The December decline in nonfarm payrolls was revised upward to 577,000 from an
initial 524,000, the department said in a preliminary report. January's decline
marked the biggest fall since December 1974, when 602,000 jobs were cut.
''The labor market continued to weaken dramatically in January,'' Keith Hall,
commissioner of the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, said in a
statement.
''January's sharp drop in employment brings job losses to 3.6 million since the
start of the recession in December 2007. About half of the decline occurred in
the past three months,'' he said.
The department said the goods-producing sector cut 319,000 jobs in January,
with construction employment falling by 111,000 jobs and the manufacturing
sector eliminating 207,000 jobs.
The services sector, generally the engine of job creation in the United States,
lost 279,000 jobs after shedding a revised 327,000 jobs in December.
In the sector, retailers shed 45,100 jobs, compared with a revised fall of
82,700 the previous month, while professional and business services, including
providers of consulting, accounting and computer systems, lost 121,000 jobs.
Education and health services added 54,000 jobs, while the government sector
gained 6,000 jobs.
The department said average hourly earnings, a major barometer of inflation,
rose 5 cents to $18.46 in January.
The manufacturing sector's average workweek came to 39.8 hours, down 0.1 hour
from the preceding month.
==Kyodo
