Nationwide BLS Unemployment figure rises to 7.2% in December; 2008 loses most jobs since 1945

BLS Data Release

Nonfarm payroll employment declined sharply in December, and the U-3 unemployment rate rose from 6.8 to 7.2 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Payroll employment fell by 524,000 over the month and by 1.9 million over the last 4 months of 2008. In December, job losses were large and widespread across most major industry sectors.

In December, the number of unemployed persons increased by 632,000 to 11.1 million and the unemployment rate rose to 7.2 percent. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons has grown by 3.6 million,
and the unemployment rate has risen by 2.3 percentage points.

The U-6 data (Table A-12), which is the total unemployment figure: including all marginally attached workers, plus those employed part time for economic reasons, plus all marginally attached workers, rose to 13.5% from 12.6%


Bloomberg: U.S. Loses 524,000 Jobs; 2008 Losses Most Since 1945

Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. lost 524,000 jobs in December, making last year’s collapse in employment the worst since the end of World War II and underscoring the severity of the recession President-elect Barack Obama will inherit.

“We’re seeing pretty ugly numbers as the recession is worsening,” Michael Gregory, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto, said before the report. “It’s going to be devastating in terms of consumer confidence and spending. The next couple of months will be dismal.”