
Unemployment rate climbed to 8.5% in Feb 09. And it is well known that this number is severaly distorted, it is just "initial claims" for unemployed.
The real number is up to 100% higher. People just stop looking for work, and so stop being counted as unemployed.
An average of 5,945 bankruptcy petitions were filed each day in March 09, up 9% from Feb 09 and up 38% compared with a year 08.
In all, 130,793 people filed for bankruptcy in March 09.
There also was an increase in the number of people working part-time jobs who want to get a full-time job. A record
9 million Americans were "underemployed" in March 09.
The government's so-called
underemployment rate stood at 15.6% in March
Widespread nature of the job losses may only make the recession worse. Such increases suggest that the impact on those losing jobs will be longer and
more severe. Therefore we expect
greater financial stress, credit delinquencies and foreclosures.
Employers also cut the number of
temporary workers by 72,000 in the month 02-09, taking the percentage of temporary workers in the overall work force down to the lowest level since 1994.
Employers have cut 20% of temporary workers in the last six months 08/08-02/09.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/03/news/economy/jobs_march/index.htm?postversion=2009040308No End in Sight to Job Losses; 663,000 More Cut in March 09Bankruptcies Rose to Nearly 6,000 a Day in March 09