WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The axe fell on an expected half million jobs last month, economists say, and the only reason the job losses weren't larger is that weak hiring for temporary jobs in November and December meant fewer people were laid off in January.
The economy lost 1.5 million jobs in just the final three months of the year, bringing the losses for the entire year to 2.6 million, the worst since 1945.
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch are forecasting a seasonally adjusted net loss of 525,000 jobs in January, following losses of 524,000 in December, 584,000 in November, 484,000 in October and 403,000 in September. It would be the first time since the Depression that jobs fell by more than 400,000 for five straight months.
The unemployment rate is expected to rise to 7.5% in January from 7.2% in December. It would be the highest unemployment rate since 1992. Economists expect the jobless rate to hit nearly 9% by early next year. If so, the about 4.5 percentage-point increase in the unemployment rate from the low of 4.4% would be the worst in the post-war era.
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