Mass layoffs surge in 2008, continue at rapid pace

CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON – Mass layoffs involving 50 or more

workers increased sharply last year, and large job cuts

appear to be accelerating in 2009 at a furious pace.

Boeing, Pfizer, Home Depot and other U.S. corporate

titans have announced tens of thousands of job cuts this

week alone.

The economy is likely to continue to shed jobs for the rest

of this year, even if an economic stimulus bill pushed by

President Barack Obama is approved, economists said.

More than 2.1 million workers were fired as a result of last

year's mass layoffs, the department said.

Large corporations continued to hemorrhage jobs

Wednesday, as Boeing Co. said it would cut 5,500

positions, on top of 4,500 layoffs announced earlier this

month. Airlines are ordering fewer planes as air travel

declines due to the global economic slowdown.

...

Still, the current recession, which began in December

2007, likely will result in greater job losses than any

downturn since the late 1950s, said Adam York, an

economic analyst at Wachovia Corp.

Total employment will drop by 3.5 percent by the end of

this year, a sharper decline than the 3.1 percent fall that

took place during the steep 1981-1982 recession, York

said. Employers cut 2.6 million jobs last year and will likely

eliminate more than 2 million this year, he said.

...

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve acknowledged

Wednesday that the economy is continuing to deteriorate

and signaled it would use unconventional tools, such as

buying longer-term Treasury securities, to cushion the

fallout. Such a move could help drive down mortgage

rates and provide help to the stricken housing market,

economists said.

 ...

Illustrating the worldwide pain being felt during the

recession, the International Monetary Fund said

Wednesday the global economy will grow by only 0.5

percent this year, the slowest since World War II and a

sharp reduction from its projection of 2.2 percent growth 

in November.

The world economy is hamstrung by potential credit

losses of $2.2 trillion stemming from U.S. mortgages and

other loans, the IMF said. "A sustained economic

recovery will not be possible until the financial sector's

functionality is restored and credit makers are unclogged,"

the IMF said.

...

Twelve industries reported record high levels of job

losses, the Labor Department said, including construction,

mining, manufacturing, transportation services and 

financial services.

...

Economists forecast that about 575,000 initial claims

were filed, down from 589,000 the previous week. Last

week's figure matched a 26-year high reached in

November, though the labor force has grown by about half

since then.

轉貼自︰

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090128/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/economy

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