The American economy shed another 663,000 jobs in March, the government reported Friday, bringing the toll of job losses during the recession to more than 5 million.þþThe 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. þþThe monthly job losses and rise in unemployment rate lined up with economists’ expectations.þþThe agency also drastically revised the job losses in January to 741,000 from the earlier report of 655,000, but left February’s job loss estimate of 651,000 unchanged.þþ“There is no letup,” said James O’Sullivan, senior United States economist at UBS. “The trend has been truly dismal.”þþThe figures offered a stark contrast to some recent glimmers of life elsewhere in the economy, which have buoyed stock markets and heartened hopes for a turnaround. The sharp and continuing increase in unemployment suggests that even if the downward spiral is beginning to level off, job losses are likely to keep piling up for the rest of this year and into 2010.þþAlthough the Federal Reserve expects unemployment to crest near 8.8 percent, many economists say it will rise above 10 percent and will only begin to ebb after the broader economy is well on the way to recovery — a wrenching forecast for the 13.2 million people in the United States who are currently unemployed.þþMore than two million jobs disappeared in the first quarter of the year, and as the downturn drags on and the ranks of the unemployed swell, people are beginning to languish without work. þþStill, economists said they believed the rate of job losses would moderate slightly by summer as the government’s measures to patch up the financial system, revive consumer spending and put people to work wash through the economy. þþWorkers are starting to see tax credits from the $787 billion stimulus package show up in their paychecks, and government-financed projects to build bridges and repair roads are ramping up.þþ“The fiscal stimulus is just really starting now,” Mr. O’Sullivan said. “That’s all in front of us. We do think the weakness is going to fade in the next months.”þþPresident Obama has promised that the stimulus plan — the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act — will save or create three million to four million jobs over the next two years.þþIf nothing else, the government’s new numbers underscored the sheer sweep of job losses. Unemployment has surged above 10 percent in seven states and sidelined workers from Maine to California, affecting men and women of every race, age and educational level. þþ“One of the defining features of this downturn is that almost everyone’s being touched in some way,” said Mark Zandi, founder of Moody’s Economy.com. “It seems like every business in every industry in every corner of the country has a hiring freeze. They’re just not in the mood or position to hire. They’re not taking résumés. They’re not looking for people.”þþAs months pass and potential employers stop responding to query letters and e-mails, a sense of weary despair is growing among many without work.þþA few days ago, 54-year-old Howard Leshner of Valencia, Calif., logged onto Craigslist, the online bulletin board, and posted this pitch: “Need work. Will work for free.”þþMr. Leshner said he worked for a sandpaper company, then sold electric products and cables to home-supply stores until 2000, then tried his hand as a real-estate agent. He got by selling houses, but not since the housing market collapsed in Southern California. He said his family had been living off savings and his wife’s income as he looked for work, but the closest he got was an interview with the Walt Disney Company a year ago.þþ“You don’t get one single response — nothing,” Mr. Leshner said. “I’m sitting here saying, ‘What am I doing? What am I doing?’ ”þþKimberly Ghorm, 23, has been applying for jobs almost constantly since she graduated from Rutgers University in May 2008 with a degree in communications. She has applied to about 400 jobs, scours Internet job boards and attends career fairs and networking events, like one on Wednesday night where people looking for work were encouraged to wear a purple glow-in-the-dark bracelet to identify themselves as such. She did not get any offers.þþ“I’ve put myself out there,” Ms. Ghorm said. “I’ve done all that I can do. I just pray at night for something to happen.”þþ
Source: NY Times
