Finding a New Job Becomes Harder as Layoffs Mount

"Only government can break the vicious cycles that are crippling our economy — where a lack of spending leads to lost jobs, which leads to even less spending," Obama said.

Graphic shows change in weekly jobless claims and employment level; 1 c x 4 1/2 in; 46.5 mm x 114.3 mm

(AP)

This week alone, drugstore operator Walgreen Co., managed care provider Cigna Corp., aluminum producer Alcoa Inc., data-storage company EMC Corp. and computer products maker Logitech International all announced major layoffs to cope with a recession that has just entered its second year.

Pink slips are piling higher as companies scramble to cut costs even deeper. Electronic unemployment filing systems have crashed in at least three states in recent days due to the crush of Americans seeking jobless benefits.

For all of 2008, employers likely slashed payrolls by more than 2.4 million. That's based on economists' forecasts for a net loss of 550,000 additional jobs in December, as well as the job losses already reported every month last year by the government. Some, however, think the number of jobs cut last month will be higher — around 600,000 or 700,000. That information also will be out Friday.

If the conservative 2.4 million estimate of net payroll reductions for 2008 proves correct, it would mark the first annual job loss since the previous recession in 2001. It also would be the worst year of job losses since 1945, when employers slashed nearly 2.8 million jobs, though the number of jobs in the U.S. has more than tripled since then.

On a more upbeat note Thursday, rates on 30-year mortgages this week fell to a new record low of 5.01 percent, a dose of good news for prospective home buyers — if they can manage to get a home loan.

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Associated Press writer Jacob Adelman in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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