New York (RushPRnews) 01/09/09 -Unemployment in the United States hit 7.2 percent in December, the highest level in 15 years. That is a sharp four-tenths of a percent increase over the prior month.
Friday’s report from the Labor Department also said the battered U.S. economy had a net loss of 524,000 jobs in December, and it lost 2.6 million jobs for the whole year.
Some economists say the job losses threaten to pull the economy into a downward cycle of rising unemployment and declining consumer spending.
Earlier this week, President-elect Barack Obama said he expected a grim employment report and urged Congress to pump an unprecedented amount of money into the faltering U.S. economy.
Mr. Obama is trying to win support for his massive economic stimulus proposal – a two-year plan costing as much as $800 billion. It includes tax cuts for most Americans, along with spending on roads, schools, health care, and energy.
Mr. Obama has blamed the crisis on what he called “profound irresponsibility” and pledged to improve regulation to keep reckless greed and risk from threatening the U.S. economy again.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.