when you hear the media & politicians call this a 'sluggish jobs report'... perspective

[spanone]

December 5, 2008

U.S. Loses 533,000 Jobs in Biggest Drop Since 1974

The government’s report of a giant job loss in November, the biggest monthly decline in a generation, puts more pressure on Congress and the administration to move quickly on a stimulus package, mortgage relief and perhaps financial aid for Detroit’s big automakers.

The nation’s employers cut 533,000 jobs in November, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

Not since December 1974, toward the end of a severe recession, have so many jobs disappeared in a single month — and the current recession, far from ending, appears to be just gathering steam.

“We are caught in a downward spiral in which employment, incomes and spending are collapsing together,” said Nigel Gault, chief domestic economist for IHS Global Insight. “With private spending frozen, we have no choice but to rely on a stimulus package to revive the economy.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/06/business/economy/06jobs.html?_r=0&pagewanted=print

[elleng]

1. Right, thanks,

as we have been in an upward spiral since PrezO and his programs began, slow tho it is, and that largely due to intransigent Congres. It's been upward ever since.

[tritsofme]

2. I don't know how much perspective this provides.

I would certainly hope things are better five years later than when we were in the depths of the recession.

The bottom line is that it takes approx. 150k jobs each month, just to keep up with population growth. We do not have a healthy labor market.