American employers shed 524,000 jobs in December, bringing the total number of jobs lost in 2008 to 2.6m, the most since the end of the Second World War in 1945 when 2.75 million jobs were lost as the wartime economy was demobilized. As a percentage of employment, job losses in 2008 totaled 1.8%, the worst since 1982 and the third-largest since the war.
The unemployment rate rose to 7.2% for the month, the highest in 16 years, with 11 million Americans out of work and searching
The Labor Department's unemployment report showed widespread damage across U.S. industries and workers. The damage hit blue-collar and white-collar workers, people without high school diplomas and those with college degrees.
The rise in unemployment has picked up in recent months as businesses have reacted to the plunge in consumer spending. The economy's weakness has forcing steeper cuts. The most severe losses in payrolls is projected to happen now and in the months ahead as companies slash costs and try to cushion their bottom lines.
The grim report will increase pressure on Congress to quickly pass a major fiscal stimulus package to prop up the economy. President-elect Barack Obama, who takes over Jan. 20, has suggested the government inject as much as $800 billion into the economy through huge package of tax cuts and government spending over the next two years.
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