Legal Commentary

Official Unemployment Rate Hits 8.5%, 661,000 Jobs Lost In March

By Big Tent Democrat

NYTimes:

The American economy shed another 663,000 jobs in March, the government reported Friday, bringing the toll of job losses during the recession to 5.1 million. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the national unemployment rate climbed to 8.5 percent from 8.1 percent in February, its highest levels in a quarter-century, as employers raced to cut their payroll costs. It was the 15th consecutive month of job losses.

. . . “There is no letup,” said James O’Sullivan, senior United States economist at UBS. “The trend has been truly dismal.” . . . In all, nearly 16 percent of the people in the United States are now looking for a job, working part-time because they cannot find full-time work, or are out of work and not actively looking, the government said.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on April 03, 2009 (boomark / email).