Global Financial Crisis Claims 535,000 Jobs In U.S.
The November unemployment numbers released by the U.S. Labor Department show a record 535,000 jobs were lost during the month. This is the worst monthly total of lost jobs ever tabulated, and shows that the full wrath of the global economic crisis is wreaking havoc on the United States economy. With only weeks left in the lifespan of the Bush administration, America appears rudderless at a time when its economy is in dangerous free-fall.
Many economists believe the worst is yet to come. The official unemployment rate, which excludes long-term jobless, now stands at 6.7%. Some experts are forecasting that the number will rise to 8 or 9 percent, or even higher. With fear rife among families about losing their livelihoods, consumer spending in the U.S. will continue to erode, leading to further demand destruction. This is likely to continue the trend of house price deflation, the facilitator of the current credit crisis. A vicious circle of economic implosion is now fully underway, with policy makers in the United States and throughout the world desperately throwing money in vast sums at the problem, hoping something will work. So far, however, nothing seems to be impacting the acceleration of the global economic crisis. It is likely that vast numbers of workers across the globe will be joining the ranks of the unemployed, leading to further recessionary pressures on the global economy and dangerous levels of deflation.