Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Unemployment Hits 8.5%, Highest in 25 Years

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 3, 2009 8:21 AM CDT

(Newser) – Another punishing month of job losses in March has pushed unemployment to a 25-year-high of 8.5%, the Labor Department said today. Total job losses for the 16-month recession have now passed 5 million. Nonfarm payrolls fell 663,000 in March, which mostly matched analyst estimates, the Wall Street Journal reports. But January’s losses were revised upward to 741,000, making it the third-worst month ever recorded.

Job losses were spread across all industries, the department said, but they were especially steep in manufacturing, construction, and temporary help services. The unemployment rate, which is determined by surveying households rather than companies, climbed to its highest level since 1983.

People take notes during a seminar at the Access Opportunity Career Fair in Boston Thursday, April 2, 2009, which was held to assist job seekers in a bleak job markert. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

A career fair attendee looks around the room in New York, Thursday, April 2, 2009. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

People line up at a Workforce Plus job fair, Thursday, March 26, 2009, in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP Photo/Phil Coale)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Paycheck Data Dismal in 2010

...Unless you were a millionaire

(NEWSER) - The Social Security Administration quietly released payroll data for 2010 yesterday, and they were “in a word, awful,” writes David Cay Johnston at Reuters —assuming you’re not a millionaire, that is. The number of people making at least $1 million rose by 20%, jumping from 78,000 to almost 94,000. But for everyone else, there were fewer jobs and they paid less. The median paycheck fell 1.2% to $26,364, or $507 a week, its lowest level, adjusting for inflation, since 1999. More»

Bank of America to Cut 30K Jobs

Aims to save $5B per year

(AP) - The rumored cuts ranged from 10,000 to 40,000 jobs. The reality is somewhere on the upper end: Bank of America says it will cut about 30,000 jobs over the next few years in a bid to save $5 billion per year. The troubled bank expects many of the cuts will come through attrition and eliminating unfilled positions, and notes that while the number of job cuts isn't fixed, it anticipates they will total 30,000. It hopes to achieve the $5 billion in annual cost savings by 2014. More»

Bank of America to Slash Thousands of Jobs

As many as 10K could eventually get the boot

(NEWSER) - Bank of America Corp. is cutting 3,500 jobs this quarter, and plans to cut many more in the quarters ahead, as part of a drastic plan to overhaul the company. A source tells the Wall Street Journal that the company will probably dispose of at least 10,000 jobs before it’s finished—which would amount to 3.5% of its work force. More»

Lousy Job 'Worse for Mental Health Than No Job'

Health benefits of becoming employed depend on job quality: study

(NEWSER) - Studies have found that unemployment is bad for a person's mental health, but new research has discovered that having a lousy job can be as bad or worse. The researchers studied thousands of people of working age and found that while getting a good job after a period of unemployment significantly boosts mental health, the mental well-being of those who entered jobs with terrible pay, no security, and no workplace support dropped below that of people who remained jobless, the Chicago Tribune reports. More»

US Sees Rosiest Jobs Outlook Since 1998

42% of respondents expect to be hiring in next 6 months

(NEWSER) - US firms' employment expectations are the best they’ve been in more than a decade, a survey finds: Some 42% of companies who responded expect to boost hiring in the next 6 months, up from 39% in October; just 7% planned to shrink payrolls, compared to 11% in October. Some 62% of respondents, meanwhile, said they were likely to spend more on equipment this year, Bloomberg notes. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Unemployment Hits 8.5%, Highest in 25 Years

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

unemployment • Department of Labor • payrolls • job cuts • job

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Paycheck Data Dismal in 2010

...Unless you were a millionaire

Bank of America to Cut 30K Jobs

Aims to save $5B per year

Bank of America to Slash Thousands of Jobs

As many as 10K could eventually get the boot

Lousy Job 'Worse for Mental Health Than No Job'

Health benefits of becoming employed depend on job quality: study

US Sees Rosiest Jobs Outlook Since 1998

42% of respondents expect to be hiring in next 6 months

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?

Unemployment Hits 8.5%, Highest in 25 Years

Bookmark & Share

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

unemployment • Department of Labor • payrolls • job cuts • job

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Paycheck Data Dismal in 2010

...Unless you were a millionaire

Bank of America to Cut 30K Jobs

Aims to save $5B per year

Bank of America to Slash Thousands of Jobs

As many as 10K could eventually get the boot

Lousy Job 'Worse for Mental Health Than No Job'

Health benefits of becoming employed depend on job quality: study

US Sees Rosiest Jobs Outlook Since 1998

42% of respondents expect to be hiring in next 6 months

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?