Long thread on the subject (Selling on eBay discussion board):
http://forums.ebay.ca/thread.jspa?threadID=500035232&start=0 .
http://forums.ebay.ca/thread.jspa?threadID=500035232&start=0 .
October 3, 2008 at 8:51 AM EDT
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers slashed payrolls by 159,000 in September, the most in more than five years, a worrisome sign that the economy is hurtling toward a deep recession.
The U.S. Labor Department's fresh snapshot, released Friday, also showed that the nation's unemployment rate held steady at 6.1 per cent as hundreds of thousands of people streamed out of the work force for any number of reasons.
The reduction in payrolls was much sharper than the 100,000 cuts economists were forecasting. They expected the jobless rate to be unchanged.
It marked the ninth straight month that the economy has lost jobs. The drop underscores fallout from a long slump in the housing market and a dangerous credit crunch that intensified last month throwing Wall Street — and the economy — into chaos.
Employers cut 73,000 jobs in August, slightly less than the 84,000 initially estimated, according to revised figures. However, the cuts in July turned out to be a bit deeper — 67,000 versus the 60,000 previously reported.
The 159,000 jobs lost in September were the most since March, 2003, when the labor market was still struggling to get back on its feet after being knocked down by the 2001 recession.
Job losses in September were widespread.
Manufacturers cut 51,000 jobs, construction companies axed 35,000 jobs, retailers got rid of 40,000 positions, business services shed 27,000 and financial services slashed 17,000 positions, with securities and investment firms accounting for 8,000 of those reductions. Leisure and hospitality companies also reduced employment by 17,000. That overwhelmed employment gains by the government, in education, health and elsewhere.
Cost-cutting employers are getting rid of workers as companies chafe under a slew of problems related to the economy's slowdown, a painful housing collapse and a dangerous credit crunch.
Companies announcing layoffs in September included Hanesbrands Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., Schering-Plough Corp., Alaska Airlines and Alcoa Inc.
Friday's employment snapshot is the last before America goes to the polls in November.
Mounting job losses, shrinking paycheques, shriveling nest eggs and rising foreclosures all have weighed heavily on American voters.
The economy is their No. 1 concern. An Associated Press-GfK poll earlier this week showed that likely voters now back Democratic presidential contender Sen. Barack Obama 48 per cent to GOP rival John McCain's 41 per cent. They believe Mr. Obama is better suited to lead the country through the financial turbulence.
To avert even more economic upheaval, Congress is weighing a $700-billion (U.S.) plan to buy bad assets from banks and other institutions to shore up the financial industry. The legislation is urgently championed by President Bush and his top economic generals.
Spooked consumers and businesses have pulled back so much that some analysts fear the economy could stall out — or even worse — shrink in the July-to-September quarter. Many predict the economy will contract in both the final quarter of this year and the first quarter of next year, meeting the classic definition of a recession. The economy's last recession was in 2001.
.
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers slashed payrolls by 159,000 in September, the most in more than five years, a worrisome sign that the economy is hurtling toward a deep recession.
The U.S. Labor Department's fresh snapshot, released Friday, also showed that the nation's unemployment rate held steady at 6.1 per cent as hundreds of thousands of people streamed out of the work force for any number of reasons.
The reduction in payrolls was much sharper than the 100,000 cuts economists were forecasting. They expected the jobless rate to be unchanged.
It marked the ninth straight month that the economy has lost jobs. The drop underscores fallout from a long slump in the housing market and a dangerous credit crunch that intensified last month throwing Wall Street — and the economy — into chaos.
Employers cut 73,000 jobs in August, slightly less than the 84,000 initially estimated, according to revised figures. However, the cuts in July turned out to be a bit deeper — 67,000 versus the 60,000 previously reported.
The 159,000 jobs lost in September were the most since March, 2003, when the labor market was still struggling to get back on its feet after being knocked down by the 2001 recession.
Job losses in September were widespread.
Manufacturers cut 51,000 jobs, construction companies axed 35,000 jobs, retailers got rid of 40,000 positions, business services shed 27,000 and financial services slashed 17,000 positions, with securities and investment firms accounting for 8,000 of those reductions. Leisure and hospitality companies also reduced employment by 17,000. That overwhelmed employment gains by the government, in education, health and elsewhere.
Cost-cutting employers are getting rid of workers as companies chafe under a slew of problems related to the economy's slowdown, a painful housing collapse and a dangerous credit crunch.
Companies announcing layoffs in September included Hanesbrands Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., Schering-Plough Corp., Alaska Airlines and Alcoa Inc.
Friday's employment snapshot is the last before America goes to the polls in November.
Mounting job losses, shrinking paycheques, shriveling nest eggs and rising foreclosures all have weighed heavily on American voters.
The economy is their No. 1 concern. An Associated Press-GfK poll earlier this week showed that likely voters now back Democratic presidential contender Sen. Barack Obama 48 per cent to GOP rival John McCain's 41 per cent. They believe Mr. Obama is better suited to lead the country through the financial turbulence.
To avert even more economic upheaval, Congress is weighing a $700-billion (U.S.) plan to buy bad assets from banks and other institutions to shore up the financial industry. The legislation is urgently championed by President Bush and his top economic generals.
Spooked consumers and businesses have pulled back so much that some analysts fear the economy could stall out — or even worse — shrink in the July-to-September quarter. Many predict the economy will contract in both the final quarter of this year and the first quarter of next year, meeting the classic definition of a recession. The economy's last recession was in 2001.
.
