Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:29:14 GMT
 Americans wait in line to talk to job recruiters at a career fair in Los Angeles. In January, the US witnessed the deepest cut in payrolls in 34 years. |
The jobless rate shot up to 7.6 percent last month while Americans witnessed the deepest cut in payrolls in 34 years -- the most since December 1974 --, according to a Labor Department report released Friday.
Analysts say the depth and breadth of January's labor market plunge signals that there is no sign of relief on the horizon.
Employers have shed jobs every month since January 2008, creating an aggregate decline in payroll employment of about 3.2 million.
The US officially slipped into a recession in December 2007; however, its impact was disguised by an emergency tax rebate introduced by the administration of former US president George W. Bush last spring.
The erratic decline, economists say, turned into a full-out plunge on almost every front since September, following a sharp fall in all economic indicators.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve continues to pump money into the financial system at a rare pace. Since September, the central bank has created new money to up its reserve from $900 billion to more than $2 trillion, the New York Times reported.
