US job losses hit highest in 35 years

US employers cut payrolls by 533,000 in November, the biggest monthly cut in 35 years, bringing the US unemployment rate to a 15-year high of 6.7 percent, and the total number of jobs eliminated this year to 1.9 million.┬á The new statistics have handed Americans more grim news right before the holidays, and has fueled fears that the worldÔÇÖs largest economy is positioned for a deep, long downturn. ┬á ÔÇ£You canÔÇÖt get much uglier than this,ÔÇØ said Richard Yamarone at Argus Research in New York. ÔÇ£The economy has just collapsed, and has gone into a free fall.ÔÇØ ┬á While November job losses were expected to be very high, they dramatically exceed the 320,000 job cuts economists were expecting, as well as all 73 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. ┬á Job losses have hit service industries the hardest, such as banks, insurance companies, restaurants, and retailers; as well as construction companies, automakers, and factories. The few places where gains were recorded include the government, education, and health services. ┬á The National Bureau of Economic Research, the authority of US business cycles, said this week that a contraction began in December 2007, and that the employment slump was a key factor in determining the start of the recession.┬á Payrolls are likely to keep declining into next year as the downfall in credit and spending have hurt a majority of companies. President-elect Barack Obama called the current situation a ÔÇ£crisis of historic proportions,ÔÇØ and announced a plan last week to save or create 2.5 million jobs over two years.  ┬áÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs time to not just address the immediate economic threats but to start laying the ground work for long-term prosperity,ÔÇØ he said. ÔÇ£The most significant issue we are facing right now is how do we put people back to work.ÔÇØ