Tuesday, January 27, 2009
*****Economy Implodes As Wave Of Layoffs Sweeps US*****
by Eric deCarbonnel
The USA Today reports that the wave of layoffs in U.S. and Europe show severity of the recession.
Household names such as Caterpillar, (CAT) Home Depot (HD) and Sprint Nextel (S) said Monday that they are laying off a combined 35,000 workers in moves that stressed the severity of the worldwide recession and kicked off what is likely to be a week of gloomy earnings announcements, further job cuts and dismal data.
The news ratchets up the pressure on the Obama administration and Congress as lawmakers debate an $825 billion stimulus package intended to save or create millions of jobs. Far more job cuts are likely as consumer and business spending tumbles amid what many economists say is the worst recession the USA has seen since the Great Depression.
"Some of the worst job losses are ahead of us, not behind us," says Wells Fargo senior economist Scott Anderson.
He expects 3 million Americans to lose their jobs in 2009 it will be more — up from the 2.6 million who were cut last year, which was the most since 1945, the final year of World War II. The layoffs are happening in "all industries in all areas of the world," Anderson says. "This will be one of the worst job markets in the postwar period."