The ugly job numbers; "Official" unemployment rate tops 8 percent

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Employers in U.S. Cut 651,000 Jobs; Unemployment Rose to 8.1%
By Bob Willis


March 6 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. unemployment rate surged in February to the highest level in more than 25 years and the economy lost more than 600,000 jobs for a third consecutive month, pointing to further reductions in spending.

Payrolls fell by 651,000 and revisions for the prior two months lopped off an additional 161,000 jobs, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The jobless rate surged to 8.1 percent, more than forecast and the highest since December 1983.

Tumbling demand globally is prompting companies from General Motors Corp. to Sears Holdings Corp. to step up firings, perpetuating a vicious circle of job losses and spending cuts. The Obama administration has set aside immediate concerns about a budget gap and pushed through a $787 billion stimulus plan aimed at creating or saving 3.5 million jobs.

``There is not a single sign that points to a bottom yet,'' Ellen Zentner, a senior economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York, said before the report. ``It is the worst recession in the postwar era.''

The payroll drop in January was revised up to 655,000 from 598,000 and December now shows a 681,000 drop, up from the 577,000 previously estimated. The December decline was the biggest since October 1949.

The U.S. economy has now lost almost 4.4 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007, the biggest employment slump of any economic downturn in the postwar period.

Payrolls were forecast to drop by 650,000, according to the median of 80 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Estimates ranged from losses of 500,000 to 800,000. .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aesonW0og4.Y&refer=home