November’s job losses were the steepest since December 1974, when 602,000 jobs were shed. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a reduction of 340,000 jobs.
“This is a clear employment blowout. Firms are reacting as dramatically as they can to make sure they have cost structures they can survive the recession we are in,” said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors.
One reader commenting on the site feels the job losses have not hit bottom. “I predict 30% unemployment by March of 2009. The retailers are gonna tank right after Christmas. Look for some really good deals!” wrote Smacktle.
Not all responses were as dire.
“Well these are pretty bad numbers. This will be a real test to see how much bad news is priced into the markets. Futures are down quite a bit, but I actually expected them to be down a lot more given these terrible recessionary numbers,” says Jeff Kleintop, chief market strategist for LPL Financial in Boston.
“It might be hard in future months to get numbers that are any worse. It might be good that we raced to some of the worst numbers we’ve had because perhaps it can’t get incrementally worse.”
Some of our readers found the data less shocking.
“This is not a big surprise, really. One has only to observe how many fewer cars are on the road shortly after rush hour, how many empty seats are on the planes into or out of major hubs, how many fewer people are in front of you in any line for services from movie theaters to tire stores, how much more quickly you are seated in a restaurant,” writes Jaime Simmons.
What you think about today’s unemployment numbers?
(Pictured above: A member of the Laborers Union Local 89 waits outside his local union hall after placing his name on the job list in San Marcos, California November 7, 2008. REUTERS/Mike Blake)
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Yeah, peeps.
- Posted by sallyThere will be plenty of jobs in new technology. Imagine if we could replace every car truck & bus on the road with a new electric plug-in vehicle. That’s a lot of work and a lot of profit. Also the consumer and the environment win. Less oil and pollution, and lower costs to run.
- Posted by Plenty of jobs‘Just Do It’
We experience job cost arbitration. With open trade job losses and earnings decreases will not stop until they equal outsourced ones. Once manufacturing laborers start making 2.50 dollars per day as in Gianghong, there will be no more incentives for outsourcing. Of course, much before that happens half of the American population will be on the streets in civil disorder. So, good luck!
- Posted by AnankeMinimum wages, coupled with Fed regulations prohibiting kids under 16 from being hired have make summer and part time jobs for young folk non-existent. Thus, no work ethic or experience is created. The minimum wage set the price for illegal immigrants to work for less, and therefore take legitimate jobs away from the US Citizens. The non-enforcement of visa and visitor permits to the US has made the US govenment complicit in the lack of jobs available for the loss of manufacturing and service jobs. The cut backs are part of a shrunken economy…if the economy were to heal, the service and hospitality and retail jobs would return. Whenever a recession occurs, jobs are lost. It is the market reaction, and government intervention will only make it worse until they stop messing with wages and job criteria.
- Posted by RUFUSWhat I really love is when EVERYTHING is blamed on the Labor Unions. Can you remember why Labor Unions were formed in the first place? It was to protect the workers that actually produced the goods. The media talks about the labor costs on the new cars are close to $2,000.00. Hmmmm, let’s take the $2K from an average new vehicle, and you’re still looking at $25,000.00! Paste these words into a Google search, ‘Ratio of CEO salary to worker salary’. You find out where the money is going. Big salaries and bonuses are being paid for sending all the jobs to a foreign country.
There is one word to sum up the problem with our country today. G-R-E-E-D! Then, combine that with the fact that this country is drifting away from the foundation it was built on. The United States of America was founded on Christian Principles. Is it really not that clear that the USA is ’sinking’ as we keep throwing our Christian beliefs overboard? The citizens of this Great Nation better open your eyes and take note as to where we are headed. Even though I did not vote for President-Elect Obama, I will still support the office of President. Those that are quick to blame all this on President Bush need to sit back and think how many times we have been attacked on our soil since 9-11. WAKE UP PEOPLE!
- Posted by DollarBillAmericans are the ultimate loosers as you buy more and more China make products. Any politician cannot ask openly in public to stop buying China makes in US..that is against international bussiness conduct. As americans dont mind buying chineese make as long as they are cheap..big corporates dont mind moving manufacturing jobs to china to compete is local and international markets. If americans want to stop the job menace stop buying chineese..the govt has already done all it could..it ultimately boils down to consumer selection on how americans spend money.
- Posted by OmCurrent unemployment rates—the highest in 15 years—can partially be attributed to federal minimum wage hikes in 2007 and this July. Legislators’ decisions to substantially increase the minimum wage during good economic times now bring unintended consequences for entry-level workers.
Employers (who are seeing demand for their products and services dropping dramatically) are forced to respond to these higher labor costs by cutting positions and staff hours. Sectors that tend to employ a greater number of workers at the minimum wage, such as restaurants, fast-food outlets, and retail stores are the most likely to see layoffs. Some McDonald’s stores in Illinois are testing kiosks for ordering and automated cooking systems that replace minimum wage workers.
The unintended consequence of past minimum wage hikes is job loss for entry-level workers at a time when they need help the most. A job at the previous minimum wage is much better than none at a higher rate.
- Posted by Kristen Eastlick, Employment Policies Institute