Unemployment Rate Jumped To Four-Year High
The unemployment jumped to 5.7 percent in July, up from 5.5 percent reading in June 2008, the Labor Department reported on Friday, August 1, 2008. It’s the highest unemployment rate in four years since March 2004. There were 8.8 million people unemployed in July, up from 7.1 million last year.
Job Bleeding
Employers cut jobs in July for the seventh straight month. The non-farm jobs vanished by 51,000 in the month, which were the heaviest in industries hard hit by the slow housing market, the clampdown on credit and the shaky financial sector. The jobs cut led by losses in manufacturing, construction and retail sectors. This latest report brought job losses in the first seven month this year to 463,000.
A weakening labor market intensifies pressure on consumers, who are already confronted with declining home prices, tight lending standards, and expensive energy and food. The deteriorating employment situation sends the strongest signal that the economy is in a recession.
Analysts predict more jobs could disappear over the rest of this year as energy prices and the end of tax-rebates are likely to trigger the further declines. There's growing worry that consumers will cut back on spending later this year, further hurting the economy.
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